Lipolytic Enzymes Involved in the Virulence of Human Pathogenic Fungi

Abstract

Pathogenic microbes secrete various enzymes with lipolytic activities to facilitate their survival within the host. Lipolytic enzymes include extracellular lipases and phospholipases, and several lines of evidence have suggested that these enzymes contribute to the virulence of pathogenic fungi. Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans are the most commonly isolated human fungal pathogens, and several biochemical and molecular approaches have identified their extracellular lipolytic enzymes. The role of lipases and phospholipases in the virulence of C. albicans has been extensively studied, and these enzymes have been shown to contribute to C. albicans morphological transition, colonization, cytotoxicity, and penetration to the host. While not much is known about the lipases in C. neoformans, the roles of phospholipases in the dissemination of fungal cells in the host and in signaling pathways have been described. Lipolytic enzymes may also influence the survival of the lipophilic cutaneous pathogenic yeast Malassezia species within the host, and an unusually high number of lipase-coding genes may complement the lipid dependency of this fungus. This review briefly describes the current understanding of the lipolytic enzymes in major human fungal pathogens, namely C. albicans, C. neoformans, and Malassezia spp.

Destructin-1 is a collagen-degrading endopeptidase secreted by Pseudogymnoascus destructans , the causative agent of white-nose syndrome

“…Given their central role in pathogenesis, there is also now considerable interest in identifying inhibitors of fungal peptidases as potential therapeutic drugs (19). Other virulence factors secreted by mammalian fungal pathogens include lipolytic enzymes (lipases and phospholipases) that can further mediate the destruction of epithelial tissues (20).…”

Potential Targets for Antifungal Drug Discovery Based on Growth and Virulence in Candida albicans

“…A number of studies have suggested that the absence or decreased expression of these hydrolytic enzymes may lead to reduced virulence of Candida species, and these enzymes have been shown to contribute to C. albicans morphological transition, colonization, cytotoxicity, and penetration of the host (67,68). Evidence from one study strongly suggested that the invasive C. albicans strains exhibited significantly stronger extracellular phospholipase activity than the noninvasive strains (69).…”

“…Secreted hydrolytic enzymes enable fungi to breach and invade host tissues (67).Recently, secreted hydrolytic enzymes have attracted much attention as potential virulence factors in fungi. The most highly recognized extracellular hydrolytic enzymes are proteinases, lipolytic enzymes, lipases, and phospholipases.…”

Fungi on the Skin: Dermatophytes and Malassezia

“…Malassezia encode many secreted aspartyl proteases, lipases, phospholipases C, and acid sphingomyelinases, a trait shared with C. albicans (Xu et al 2007;Park et al 2013), which also grows on human skin. This similarity suggests that these enzymes have a role in providing nutrients.…”