Opaque cell-specific proteome ofCandida albicansATCC 10231

Abstract

Candida albicans, a polymorphic opportunistic pathogen of humans, can exist in different morphological forms like yeast, hyphae, pseudohyphae, chlamydospores and white and opaque cells. Proteomic analysis of opaque form of C. albicans ATCC 10231 is carried out in the present study using micro-LC-MS/MS and validated using expression analysis of selected genes using RT-qPCR and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) assay. This is the first report identifying opaque cell-specific proteins of C. albicans. A total of 188 proteins were significantly modulated under opaque form compared to white cells, of which 110 were up-regulated, and 78 were down-regulated. It was observed that oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) and oxidative stress are enhanced in C. albicans cells growing under opaque form as proteins involved in OxPhos (Atp1, Atp3, Atp16, Atp7, Cox6, Nuc2, Qcr7 and Sdh12) and oxidative stress response (Gcs1, Gtt11, Gpx2, Sod1, Ccp1 and Lys7) were significantly up-regulated. The maximum up-regulation of 23.16 and 13.93-fold is observed in the case of Ccp1 and Nuc2, respectively. The down-regulation of proteins viz. Als1, Csh1, Sap9 and Rho1 determining cell surface chemistry indicates modulation in cell wall integrity and reduced adhesion of opaque cells compared to white cells. This study is significant as it is the first draft of the proteomic profile of opaque cells that suggests enhanced OxPhos, oxidative stress, and modulation in cell surface chemistry that indicates reduced adhesion and cell wall integrity that could be associated with reduced virulence in opaque form. However, a deeper investigation is needed to explore it further.

Proteome dataset of Candida albicans (ATCC10231) opaque cell

“…Candida albicans is a polymorphic, opportunistic pathogen of humans that exists in various morphological forms and sizes, including yeast, hyphae, pseudohyphae, chlamydospores, and white and opaque cells and in two different forms of growth, i.e., planktonic and biofilms [ 1 – 6 ]. This is the first study presenting an opaque cell-specific proteome dataset.…”

“…These results provide important insights into understanding the morphophysiological modulations in C. albicans (ATCC10231) opaque form growth using synthetic complete dextrose (SCD) medium. Quantitative proteomics for opaque form growth is included in our final article [ 6 ]. It would be helpful for the scientific community to investigate the regulation of phenotypic switching in C. albicans .…”

“…This is the raw data from our published study on the changes in morphophysiology and molecular architecture under opaque form of C. albicans (ATCC10231) [ 6 ]. The SWATH-MS (Sequential Window Acquisition of all Theoretical fragment ion spectra Mass Spectrometry) method creates a spectral library [ 9 – 12 ].…”

“…The dataset includes an expression analysis of all proteins under both the forms of growth. In addition to this, the functional annotation was carried out using CGD ( Candida Genome Database), SGD ( Saccharomyces Genome Database), David software, and UniProt Databases [ 6 ]. A detailed procedure for sample preparation is given in our article [ 6 ].…”