Newly identified motifs in Candida albicans Cdr1 protein nucleotide binding domains are pleiotropic drug resistance subfamily-specific and functionally asymmetric

Structural Basis for Oxidized Glutathione Recognition by the Yeast Cadmium Factor 1

Transporters from the ABCC family have an essential role in detoxifying electrophilic compounds including metals, drugs, and lipids, often through conjugation with glutathione complexes. The Yeast Cadmium Factor 1 (Ycf1) transports glutathione alone as well as glutathione conjugated to toxic heavy metals including Cd2+, Hg2+, and As3+. To understand the complicated selectivity and promiscuity of heavy metal substrate binding, we determined the cryo-EM structure of Ycf1 bound to the substrate, oxidized glutathione. We systematically tested binding determinants with cellular survival assays against cadmium to determine how the substrate site accommodates different-sized metal complexes. We identify a "flex-pocket" for substrate binding that binds glutathione complexes asymmetrically and flexes to accommodate different size complexes.

Characterization of Three Pleiotropic Drug Resistance Transporter Genes and Their Participation in the Azole Resistance of Mucor circinelloides

Mucormycosis is a life-threatening opportunistic infection caused by certain members of the fungal order Mucorales. This infection is associated with high mortality rate, which can reach nearly 100% depending on the underlying condition of the patient. Treatment of mucormycosis is challenging because these fungi are intrinsically resistant to most of the routinely used antifungal agents, such as most of the azoles. One possible mechanism of azole resistance is the drug efflux catalyzed by members of the ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily. The pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) transporter subfamily of ABC transporters is the most closely associated to drug resistance. The genome of Mucor circinelloides encodes eight putative PDR-type transporters. In this study, transcription of the eight pdr genes has been analyzed after azole treatment. Only the pdr1 showed increased transcript level in response to all tested azoles. Deletion of this gene caused increased susceptibility to posaconazole, ravuconazole and isavuconazole and altered growth ability of the mutant. In the pdr1 deletion mutant, transcript level of pdr2 and pdr6 significantly increased. Deletion of pdr2 and pdr6 was also done to create single and double knock out mutants for the three genes. After deletion of pdr2 and pdr6, growth ability of the mutant strains decreased, while deletion of pdr2 resulted in increased sensitivity against posaconazole, ravuconazole and isavuconazole. Our result suggests that the regulation of the eight pdr genes is interconnected and pdr1 and pdr2 participates in the resistance of the fungus to posaconazole, ravuconazole and isavuconazole.

FK506 Resistance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pdr5 and Candida albicans Cdr1 Involves Mutations in the Transmembrane Domains and Extracellular Loops

The 23-membered-ring macrolide tacrolimus, a commonly used immunosuppressant, also known as FK506, is a broad-spectrum inhibitor and an efflux pump substrate of pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. Little, however, is known about the molecular mechanism by which FK506 inhibits PDR transporter drug efflux. Thus, to obtain further insights we searched for FK506-resistant mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells overexpressing either the endogenous multidrug efflux pump Pdr5 or its Candida albicans orthologue, Cdr1. A simple but powerful screen gave 69 FK506-resistant mutants with, between them, 72 mutations in either Pdr5 or Cdr1. Twenty mutations were in just three Pdr5/Cdr1 equivalent amino acid positions, T550/T540 and T552/S542 of extracellular loop 1 (EL1) and A723/A713 of EL3. Sixty of the 72 mutations were either in the ELs or the extracellular halves of individual transmembrane spans (TMSs), while 11 mutations were found near the center of individual TMSs, mostly in predicted TMS-TMS contact points, and only two mutations were in the cytosolic nucleotide-binding domains of Pdr5. We propose that FK506 inhibits Pdr5 and Cdr1 drug efflux by slowing transporter opening and/or substrate release, and that FK506 resistance of Pdr5/Cdr1 drug efflux is achieved by modifying critical intramolecular contact points that, when mutated, enable the cotransport of FK506 with other pump substrates. This may also explain why the 35 Cdr1 mutations that caused FK506 insensitivity of fluconazole efflux differed from the 13 Cdr1 mutations that caused FK506 insensitivity of cycloheximide efflux.

A newly identified amino acid substitution T123I in the 14α-demethylase (Erg11p) of Candida albicans confers azole resistance

The increasing prevalence of azole resistance in Candida albicans poses a growing problem for clinical treatment. Amino acid substitution of the 14α-demethylase (Erg11p) encoded by the ERG11 gene is one of the most common mechanisms involved in azole resistance. Although amino acid substitutions of Erg11p have been observed in many clinical isolates, only a few amino acid substitutions have been confirmed to be related to azole resistance. In this study, by amplifying and sequencing the open reading frame of the ERG11 gene from 55 clinical isolates, we identified 27 fluconazole-resistant isolates that harbor a novel amino acid substitution, T123I, in Erg11p, in addition to the previously described homozygous substitution Y132H. We investigated both the contribution of this novel substitution T123I and its synergistic effect with substitution Y132H to azole resistance by heterogeneously expressing the C. albicans Erg11p with different substitution forms in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Results showed that S. cerevisiae cells harboring the substitution T123I displayed higher (4-fold) minimum inhibitory concentration values to both fluconazole and voriconazole than the cells expressing the wild-type version of C. albicans Erg11p, but this was not true for itraconazolele. More importantly, a synergistic effect of substitutions T123I and Y132H was observed in an assay of voriconazole resistance. These results indicate that amino acid substitutions of Erg11p are prevalent among azole-resistant isolates and that the substitution T123I confers resistance to both fluconazole and voriconazole.

Honokiol induces reactive oxygen species-mediated apoptosis in Candida albicans through mitochondrial dysfunction

Objective

To investigate the effects of honokiol on induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidant defense systems, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptosis in Candida albicans.

Methods

To measure ROS accumulation, 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate fluorescence was used. Lipid peroxidation was assessed using both fluorescence staining and a thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay. Protein oxidation was determined using dinitrophenylhydrazine derivatization. Antioxidant enzymatic activities were measured using commercially available detection kits. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) genes expression was measured using real time RT-PCR. To assess its antifungal abilities and effectiveness on ROS accumulation, honokiol and the SOD inhibitor N,N′-diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC) were used simultaneously. Mitochondrial dysfunction was assessed by measuring the mitochondrial membrane potential (mtΔψ). Honokiol-induced apoptosis was assessed using an Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit.

Results

ROS, lipid peroxidation, and protein oxidation occurred in a dose-dependent manner in C. albicans after honokiol treatment. Honokiol caused an increase in antioxidant enzymatic activity. In addition, honokiol treatment induced SOD genes expression in C. albicans cells. Moreover, addition of DDC resulted in increased endogenous ROS levels and potentiated the antifungal activity of honokiol. Mitochondrial dysfunction was confirmed by measured changes to mtΔψ. The level of apoptosis increased in a dose-dependent manner after honokiol treatment.

Conclusions

Collectively, these results indicate that honokiol acts as a pro-oxidant in C. albicans. Furthermore, the SOD inhibitor DDC can be used to potentiate the activity of honokiol against C. albicans.