Mass spectrometric quantification of Candida albicans surface proteins to identify new diagnostic markers and targets for vaccine development

In his research Heilmann sought to understand how the proteins on the cell surface of the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans change in response to their environment, especially with regard to infections. This knowledge will help to identify new targets for the development of new antifungal agents and be useful for the development of a vaccine. The most important conclusion of his research is that although the cell wall and secreted proteome is highly dynamic, a core set of proteins are essential at all times

Beyond the wall: Candida albicans secret(e)s to survive

The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans occupies various niches of the human body such as the skin and the mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts. It can also enter the blood stream and cause deadly, systemic infections, especially in immunocompromised patients, but also in immunocompetent individuals through inserted medical devices. To survive in these diverse host environments, C. albicans has developed specialized virulence attributes and rapidly adapts itself to local growth conditions and defense mechanisms. Candida albicans secretes a considerable number of proteins that are involved in biofilm formation, tissue invasion, immune evasion, and wall maintenance, as well as acquisition of nutrients including metal ions. The secretome of C. albicans is predicted to comprise 225 proteins. On a proteomic level, however, analysis of the secretome of C. albicans is incomplete as many secreted proteins are only produced under certain conditions. Interestingly, glycosylphosphatidylinositol proteins and known cytoplasmic proteins are also consistently detected in the growth medium. Importantly, a core set of seven wall polysaccharide-processing enzymes seems to be consistently present, including the diagnostic marker Mp65. Overall, we discuss the importance of the secretome for virulence and suggest potential targets for better and faster diagnostic methods

Growth-dependent secretome of Candida utilis

Recently, the food yeast Candida utilis has emerged as an excellent host for production of heterologous proteins. Since secretion of the recombinant product is advantageous for its purification, we characterized the secreted proteome of C. utilis. Cells were cultivated to the exponential or stationary growth phase, and the proteins in the medium were identified by MS. In parallel, a draft genome sequence of C. utilis strain DSM 2361 was determined by massively parallel sequencing. Comparisons of protein and coding sequences established that C. utilis is not a member of the CUG clade of Candida species. In total, we identified 37 proteins in the culture solution, 17 of which were exclusively present in the stationary phase, whereas three proteins were specific to the exponential growth phase. Identified proteins represented mostly carbohydrate-active enzymes associated with cell wall organization, while no proteolytic enzymes and only a few cytoplasmic proteins were detected. Remarkably, cultivation in xylose-based medium generated a protein pattern that diverged significantly from glucose-grown cells, containing the invertase Inv1 as the major extracellular protein, particularly in its highly glycosylated S-form (slow-migrating). Furthermore, cultivation without ammonium sulfate induced the secretion of the asparaginase Asp3. Comparisons of the secretome of C. utilis with those of Kluyveromyces lactis and Pichia pastoris, as well as with those of the human fungal pathogens Candida albicans and Candida glabrata, revealed a conserved set of 10 and six secretory proteins, respectively

Mass spectrometric analysis of the secretome of Candida albicans

The pathogenic fungus Candida albicans secretes a considerable number of hydrolases and other proteins. In-depth studies of the C. albicans secretome could thus provide new candidates for diagnostic markers and vaccine development. We compared various growth conditions differing in pH, temperature and the presence of the hyphal inducer N-acetylglucosamine. The polypeptide content of the growth media was ca. 0.1-0.2% of the total biomass. Using LC-tandem mass spectrometry, we identified 44 secretory proteins, the transmembrane protein Msb2, six secretory pathway-associated proteins and 28 predicted cytosolic proteins. Many secretory proteins are wall-related, suggesting that their presence in the growth medium is at least partially due to accidental release from the walls. Als3, Csa2, Rbt4, Sap4 and Sap6 were enriched in the medium of hyphal cultures; Bgl2, Cht3, Dag7, Eng1, Pir1, Rbe1, Scw11, Sim1/Sun42, Xog1 and Ywp1 in the medium of yeast cells; and Plb4.5 in pH 4 medium. Seven proteins (Cht3, Mp65, Orf19.5063/Coi1, Scw11, Sim1, Sun41 and Tos1) were consistently present under all conditions tested. These observations indicate that C. albicans tightly regulates its secretome. Mp65, Sun41, and Tos1 were each predicted to contain at least one highly immunogenic peptide. In total, we identified 29 highly immunogenic peptides originating from 18 proteins, including two members of the family of secreted aspartyl proteases. Fifty-six peptides were identified as proteotypic and will be useful for quantification purposes. In summary, the number of identified secretory proteins in the growth medium has been substantially extended, and growth conditions strongly affect the composition of the secretome