Disruption to de novo uridine biosynthesis alters β-1,3-glucan masking in Candida albicans

Mikayla M. Mangrum, Amanda K. Vogel, Andrew S. Wagner, Ainsley E. King, Jian Miao, Yue Zhou, Elise K. Phillips, Brian M. Peters, Todd B. Reynolds

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The uridine derivatives UDP-glucose and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine are important for cell wall construction as they are the precursors for the synthesis of β-1,3-glucan and chitin, respectively. Previous studies have demonstrated attenuated virulence of uridine auxotrophs in mice, which has been attributed to insufficienturidine levels for growth in the host. We have discovered that uridine deprivation in the uridine auxotroph ura3ΔΔ disrupts cell wall architecture by increasing surface mannans, exposing β-1,3-glucan and chitin, and decreasing UDP-sugar levels. Cell wall architecture and UDP-sugars can be rescued with uridine supplementation. The cell wall architectural disruptions in the ura3ΔΔ mutant also impact immune activation since the mutant elicited greater TNFα secretion from RAW264.7 macrophages than wild type. To determine if cell wall defects contributed to decreased virulence in the ura3ΔΔ mutant, we used a murine model of systemic infection. Mice infected with the ura3ΔΔ mutant exhibited increased survival and reduced kidney fungal burden compared with mice infected with wild type. However, suppression of the immune response with cyclophosphamide did not rescue virulence in mice infected with the ura3ΔΔ mutant, indicating the attenuation in virulence of uridine auxotrophs can be attributed to decreased growth in the host but not increased exposure of β-1,3-glucan. Moreover, the ura3ΔΔ mutant is unable to grow on ex vivo kidney agar, which demonstrates its inability to colonize the kidneys due to poor growth. Thus, although uridine auxotrophy elicits changes to cell wall architecture that increase the exposure of immunogenic polymers, metabolic fitnesscosts more strongly drive the observed virulence attenuation.

Original languageEnglish
JournalmSphere
Volume9
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Candida
  • cell wall
  • glucan
  • unmasking
  • ura3
  • virulence

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