Glycobiology, 2002, Vol. 12, No. 4 251-260
© 2002 Oxford University Press
Characterization of glucosylceramides in Pseudallescheria boydii and their involvement in fungal differentiation
3Instituto de Microbiologia Professor Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro–UFRJ, CCS-Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-590, Brazil; 4Disciplina de Biologia Celular, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; 5Disciplina de Microbiologia Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Estácio de Sá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 6Instituto Biomédico, Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and 7Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Salisbury, SP4 0JG, UK
Pseudallescheria boydii is a fungal pathogen that causes disease in immunocompromised patients. Ceramide monohexosides (CMHs) were purified from lipidic extracts of this fungus, showing that, as described for several other species, P. boydii synthesizes glucosylceramides as major neutral glycosphingolipids. CMHs from P. boydii were analyzed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, fast atom bombardment–mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance. These combination of techniques allowed the identification of CMHs from P. boydii as molecules containing a glucose residue attached to 9-methyl-4,8-sphingadienine in amidic linkage to 2-hydroxyoctadecanoic or 2-hydroxyhexadecanoic acids. Antibodies from a rabbit infected with P. boydii recognized CMHs from this fungus. Antibodies to CMH were purified from serum and used in indirect immunofluorescence, which revealed that CMHs are detectable on the surface of mycelial and pseudohyphal but not conidial forms of P. boydii, suggesting a differential expression of glucosylceramides according with morphological phase. We also investigated the influence of antibodies to CMH on growth and germ tube formation in P. boydii. Cultures that were supplemented with these antibodies failed to form mycelium, but the latter was not affected once formed. Similar experiments were performed to evaluate whether antibodies to CMH would influence germ tube formation in Candida albicans, a fungal pathogen that synthesizes glucosylceramide and uses differentiation as a virulence factor. Addition of antiglucosylceramide antibodies to cultures of C. albicans clearly inhibited the generation of germ tubes. These results indicated that fungal CMHs might be involved in the differentiation and, consequently, play a role on the infectivity of fungal cells.
1 Present address: Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, W8 8LH, London, UK
2 To whom correspondence should be addressed
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. Oura and S. Kajiwara Disruption of the sphingolipid {Delta}8-desaturase gene causes a delay in morphological changes in Candida albicans Microbiology, December 1, 2008; 154(12): 3795 - 3803. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. M. Tavares, K. Thevissen, B. P. A. Cammue, I. E. J. A. Francois, E. Barreto-Bergter, C. P. Taborda, A. F. Marques, M. L. Rodrigues, and L. Nimrichter In Vitro Activity of the Antifungal Plant Defensin RsAFP2 against Candida Isolates and Its In Vivo Efficacy in Prophylactic Murine Models of Candidiasis Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., December 1, 2008; 52(12): 4522 - 4525. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. L. Rodrigues, L. Shi, E. Barreto-Bergter, L. Nimrichter, S. E. Farias, E. G. Rodrigues, L. R. Travassos, and J. D. Nosanchuk Monoclonal Antibody to Fungal Glucosylceramide Protects Mice against Lethal Cryptococcus neoformans Infection Clin. Vaccine Immunol., October 1, 2007; 14(10): 1372 - 1376. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Rhome, T. McQuiston, T. Kechichian, A. Bielawska, M. Hennig, M. Drago, G. Morace, C. Luberto, and M. Del Poeta Biosynthesis and Immunogenicity of Glucosylceramide in Cryptococcus neoformans and Other Human Pathogens Eukaryot. Cell, October 1, 2007; 6(10): 1715 - 1726. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Ternes, P. Sperling, S. Albrecht, S. Franke, J. M. Cregg, D. Warnecke, and E. Heinz Identification of Fungal Sphingolipid C9-methyltransferases by Phylogenetic Profiling J. Biol. Chem., March 3, 2006; 281(9): 5582 - 5592. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. Nimrichter, M. D. Cerqueira, E. A. Leitao, K. Miranda, E. S. Nakayasu, S. R. Almeida, I. C. Almeida, C. S. Alviano, E. Barreto-Bergter, and M. L. Rodrigues Structure, Cellular Distribution, Antigenicity, and Biological Functions of Fonsecaea pedrosoi Ceramide Monohexosides Infect. Immun., December 1, 2005; 73(12): 7860 - 7868. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Thevissen, D. C. Warnecke, I. E. J. A. Francois, M. Leipelt, E. Heinz, C. Ott, U. Zahringer, B. P. H. J. Thomma, K. K. A. Ferket, and B. P. A. Cammue Defensins from Insects and Plants Interact with Fungal Glucosylceramides J. Biol. Chem., February 6, 2004; 279(6): 3900 - 3905. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|