In Vivo Analysis of Secreted Aspartyl Proteinase Expression in Human Oral Candidiasis

• DOI: 10.1128/iai.67.5.2482-2490.1999
• Publication Date: 2019-12-31T15:34:59Z
• Authors: Julian R. Naglik; George Newport; Theodore C. White; Lynette L. Fernan...; John S. Greenspan; Deborah Greenspan; Simon P. Sweet; Stephen J. Challa...; Nina Agabian
• Keywords: Adult; Male; 0301 basic medicine; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections; Base Sequence; Virulence; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Genes, Fungal; Gene Expression; RNA, Fungal; Middle Aged; Sensitivity and Specificity; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Candidiasis, Oral; Case-Control Studies; Multigene Family; Candida albicans; Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; Humans; Female; RNA, Messenger; DNA Primers

ABSTRACTSecreted aspartyl proteinases are putative virulence factors inCandidainfections.Candida albicanspossesses at least nine members of aSAPgene family, all of which have been sequenced. Although the expression of theSAPgenes has been extensively characterized under laboratory growth conditions, no studies have analyzed in detail the in vivo expression of these proteinases in human oral colonization and infection. We have developed a reliable and sensitive procedure to detectC. albicansmRNA from whole saliva of patients with oralC. albicansinfection and those with asymptomaticCandidacarriage. The reverse transcription-PCR protocol was used to determine which of theSAP1toSAP7genes are expressed byC. albicansduring colonization and infection of the oral cavity.SAP2and theSAP4toSAP6subfamily were the predominant proteinase genes expressed in the oral cavities of bothCandidacarriers and patients with oral candidiasis;SAP4,SAP5, orSAP6mRNA was detected in all subjects.SAP1andSAP3transcripts were observed only in patients with oral candidiasis.SAP7mRNA expression, which has never been demonstrated under laboratory conditions, was detected in several of the patient samples. All sevenSAPgenes were simultaneously expressed in some patients with oral candidiasis. This is the first detailed study showing that theSAPgene family is expressed byC. albicansduring colonization and infection in humans and thatC. albicansinfection is associated with the differential expression of individualSAPgenes which may be involved in the pathogenesis of oral candidiasis.