Homeostatic hematopoiesis is a dynamical process, characterized by large variations (e.g., with coefficients of variation larger than 1) of cell quantities, cell proliferation rates, and extensive correlations/anticorrelations between cell types within the myeloid/lymphoid lineage, and between lineages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe fungus Candida albicans frequently colonizes the human gastrointestinal tract, from which it can disseminate to cause systemic disease. This polymorphic species can transition between growing as single-celled yeast and as multicellular hyphae to adapt to its environment. The current dogma of C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a commensal fungus that colonizes the human oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract but also causes mucosal as well as invasive disease. The expression of virulence traits in clinical isolates is heterogeneous and the genetic basis of this heterogeneity is of high interest. The reference strain SC5314 is highly invasive and expresses robust filamentation and biofilm formation relative to many other clinical isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: is a diploid human fungal pathogen that displays significant genomic and phenotypic heterogeneity over a range of virulence traits and in the context of a variety of environmental niches. Here, we show that the effects of Rob1 on biofilm and filamentation virulence traits is dependent on both the specific environmental condition and the clinical strain of . The reference strain SC5314 is a heterozygote with two alleles that differ by a single nucleotide polymorphism at position 946 resulting in a serine or proline containing isoform.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe paucity of blood granulocyte populations such as neutrophils in laboratory mice is a notable difference between this model organism and humans, but the cause of this species-specific difference is unclear. We previously demonstrated that laboratory mice released into a seminatural environment, referred to as rewilding, display an increase in blood granulocytes that is associated with expansion of fungi in the gut microbiota. Here, we find that tonic signals from fungal colonization induce sustained granulopoiesis through a mechanism distinct from emergency granulopoiesis, leading to a prolonged expansion of circulating neutrophils that promotes immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCandida albicans is a pathobiont that colonizes multiple niches in the body including the gastrointestinal (GI) tract but is also responsible for both mucosal and systemic infections. Despite its prevalence as a human commensal, the murine GI tract is generally refractory to colonization with the C. albicans reference isolate SC5314.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMolecular mechanisms of biofilm formation in and current methods for biofilm analyses in this fungal pathogen are limited. (2) Methods: Biofilm biomass and crystal violet staining of the wild-type and each gene mutant strain of were evaluated on silicone under synthetic urine culture conditions. (3) Results: Seven media were tested to compare the effects on biofilm growth with or without silicone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Fungi (Basel)
December 2019
is a fungal species that can colonize multiple niches in the human host where it can grow either as a commensal or as an opportunistic pathogen. The genome of has long been of considerable interest, given that it is highly plastic and can undergo a wide variety of alterations. These changes play a fundamental role in determining traits and have been shown to enable adaptation both to the host and to antifungal drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Host Microbe
March 2019
Candida albicans is a commensal fungus of human gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts, but also causes life-threatening systemic infections. The balance between colonization and pathogenesis is associated with phenotypic plasticity, with alternative cell states producing different outcomes in a mammalian host. Here, we reveal that gene dosage of a master transcription factor regulates cell differentiation in diploid C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCandida albicans is the most important fungal pathogen afflicting humans, particularly immunocompromised patients. However, currently available antifungal drugs are limited and ineffective against drug-resistant strains. The development of new drugs or alternative therapeutic approaches to control fungal infections is urgent and necessary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCandida albicans is an opportunistic human pathogen capable of causing life-threatening infections in immunocompromised patients. C. albicans has a unique morphological transition between white and opaque phases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCandida albicans is a commensal in heathy people but has the potential to become an opportunistic pathogen and is responsible for half of all clinical infections in immunocompromised patients. Central to understanding C. albicans behavior is the white-opaque phenotypic switch, in which cells can undergo an epigenetic transition between the white state and the opaque state.
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