Aspergillus fumigatus mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are involved in maintaining the normal morphology of the cell wall and providing resistance against cell wall-damaging agents. Upon cell wall stress, cell wall-related sugars need to be synthesized from carbohydrate storage compounds. Here we show that this process is dependent on cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) activity and regulated by the high-osmolarity glycerol response (HOG) MAPKs SakA and MpkC. These protein kinases are necessary for normal accumulation/degradation of trehalose and glycogen, and the lack of these genes reduces glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis. Alterations in glycogen synthesis were observed for the sakA and mpkC deletion mutants, which also displayed alterations in carbohydrate exposure on the cell wall. Carbohydrate mobilization is controlled by SakA interaction with PkaC1 and PkaR, suggesting a putative mechanism where the PkaR regulatory subunit leaves the complex and releases the SakA-PkaC1 complex for activation of enzymes involved in carbohydrate mobilization. This work reveals the communication between the HOG and PKA pathways for carbohydrate mobilization for cell wall construction.IMPORTANCE Aspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic human pathogen causing allergic reactions or systemic infections such as invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, especially in immunocompromised patients. The fungal cell wall is the main component responsible for recognition by the immune system, due to the specific composition of polysaccharide carbohydrates exposed on the surface of the fungal cell wall called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Key enzymes in the fungal cell wall biosynthesis are a good target for fungal drug development. This report elucidates the cooperation between the HOG and PKA pathways in the mobilization of carbohydrates for fungal cell wall biosynthesis. We suggest that the reduced mobilization of simple sugars causes defects in the structure of the fungal cell wall. In summary, we propose that SakA is important for PKA activity, therefore regulating the availability and mobilization of monosaccharides for fungal cell wall biosynthesis during cell wall damage and the osmotic stress response.
cell wall, glycogen, Trehalose, Aspergillus fumigatus, MpkC, SakA, high-osmotic glycerol pathway, protein kinase A
The publication contains the following compound(s):|
Show legend Show as text |
|
Show legend Show as text |
|
Show legend Show as text |
The main characteristic of biofilm formation is extracellular matrix (ECM) production. The cells within the biofilm are surrounded by ECM which provides structural integrity and protection. During an infection, this protection is mainly against cells of the immune system and antifungal drugs. A. fumigatus forms biofilms during static growth on a solid substratum and in chronic aspergillosis infections. It is important to understand how, and which, A. fumigatus signal transduction pathways are important for the adhesion and biofilm formation in a host during infection. Here we investigated the role of MAP kinases and protein phosphatases in biofilm formation. The loss of the MAP kinases MpkA, MpkC and SakA had an impact on the cell surface and the ECM during biofilm formation and reduced the adherence of A. fumigatus to polystyrene and fibronectin-coated plates. The phosphatase null mutants ΔsitA and ΔptcB, involved in regulation of MpkA and SakA phosphorylation, influenced cell wall carbohydrate exposure. Moreover, we characterized the A. fumigatus protein phosphatase PphA. The ΔpphA strain was more sensitive to cell wall-damaging agents, had increased β-(1,3)-glucan and reduced chitin, decreased conidia phagocytosis by Dictyostelium discoideum and reduced adhesion and biofilm formation. Finally, ΔpphA strain was avirulent in a murine model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis and increased the released of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) from bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs). These results show that MAP kinases and phosphatases play an important role in signaling pathways that regulate the composition of the cell wall, extracellular matrix production as well as adhesion and biofilm formation in A. fumigatus.
polysaccharide, Biofilm, Extracellular matrix, Aspergillus fumigatus, mitogen activated kinases, phosphatases
The publication contains the following compound(s):|
Show legend Show as text |
| New query | Export IDs | Home | Help |
Execution: <1 sec