Candida albicans C3d receptor, isolated by using a monoclonal antibody.

Pseudohyphae of Candida albicans possess a receptor for C3d, a fragment of the complement component C3. This receptor was partially purified by using a monoclonal antibody (CA-A) that previously had been shown to inhibit the binding of C3d to C. albicans pseudohyphae. Purified immunoglobulin G from ascites fluid (CA-A) was coupled to a cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose column, and an affinity-purified fraction (A2) from C. albicans pseudohyphae was obtained. This fraction inhibited rosetting of the EAC3d receptor by pseudohyphae and appeared to contain glycoprotein, since receptor activity could be removed when A2 was incubated with lectins specific for mannose and glucose. A2 was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and two polypeptides of approximately 60 and 70 kilodaltons (kDa) were consistently identified in reducing gels. The 60-kDa protein was identified as a glycoprotein by concanavalin A binding. A2 was further analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Of three fractions obtained by HPLC, one containing the 60-kDa protein was found to have receptor activity. When analyzed by HPLC, this protein was found to contain mannose and glucose in approximately equal amounts. Both immunofluorescence and electron microscopy of pseudohyphae treated with CA-A identified A2 as a surface moiety. Thus, the C3d receptor of C. albicans, isolated with CA-A, is a glycoprotein of approximately 60 kDa.     

Candida albicans and Candida stellatoidea, in contrast to other Candida species, bind iC3b and C3d but not C3b.

It was demonstrated that complement-coated sheep erythrocytes bind to Candida albicans cells grown in serum-free RPMI 1640 medium. Testing of purified complement components proved that iC3b and C3d were responsible for the reaction, whereas C3b and C3b-H reacted only slightly if at all. Binding occurred only to C. albicans and C. stellatoidea, not to other species pathogenic to humans. There was evidence of a lectinlike nature of the effect.     

Laminin receptors on Candida albicans germ tubes.

Recent evidence for the role of laminin in cell adhesion and in the pathogenesis of several bacterial infections has led us to investigate the existence of receptors for this extracellular matrix component in Candida albicans. At first, immunofluorescence demonstrated the presence of laminin-binding sites at the surface of germ tubes. Electron microscopy confirmed this result and permitted precise localization of the binding sites on the outermost fibrillar layer of the germ tube cell wall. By using 125I-radiolabeled laminin, the binding was shown to be saturable and specific, hence demonstrating characteristics of true receptors. Analysis of the data by the Scatchard equation indicated that there were about 8,000 binding sites per cell, with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 1.3 x 10(-9) M. Binding was inhibited by prior heating or trypsinization of cells. Furthermore, of the different proteins and carbohydrates tested in competition experiments, only fibrinogen greatly reduced the laminin binding. Finally, dithiothreitol and iodoacetamide treatment of germ tubes allowed us to identify the laminin receptors through analysis of this extract by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western immunoblotting. Two components, of 68 kilodaltons and a doublet of 60 and 62 kilodaltons, were detected. Thus, C. albicans possesses germ tube-specific surface receptors for laminin which could mediate its attachment to basement membranes and so contribute to the establishment of candidiasis.     

Activation and binding of C3 by Candida albicans.

Interaction with components of the complement system is an important aspect of the pathogenesis of infection by Candida albicans. The key role of C3 as an opsonic ligand and as an element in amplification of complement activation led us to examine several factors that influence the activation and binding of C3 cleavage fragments to the yeast. Activation and binding of C3 were determined by use of normal human serum containing 125I-labeled C3. Incubation of yeast-phase cells in 20% serum led to deposition of 2.5 X 10(5) to 3.0 X 10(5) molecules of C3 per yeast cell. Binding of C3 was absent in serum that was heat inactivated for 30 min at 37 degrees C or in serum that was chelated with EDTA. Chelation of serum with EGTA [ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid] reduced binding of C3 fragments by 31%. These results suggest that the alternative complement pathway is the primary mechanism for activation and binding of C3 fragments to C. albicans. Bound C3 could be partially removed (50%) by treatment with 1.0 M hydroxylamine. In contrast, 1.0 M hydroxylamine removed 98% of the C3 fragments bound to encapsulated Cryptococcus neoformans. These results suggest that ester bonds are the primary mechanism for binding C3 to C. neoformans, whereas binding of C3 to C. albicans involves both ester and amide bonds. Monoclonal antibodies specific for C3c and an iC3b neoantigen were used to identify the fragment of C3 that was bound to C. albicans. The results showed that the primary fragment bound to the yeast was C3b. An examination of the kinetics of activation and binding of C3 fragments showed that activation and binding were very rapid. Near-maximal binding occurred after a 2.5- to 5-min incubation period. In contrast, activation and binding of C3 fragments to C. neoformans proceeded at a slower rate, with maximal binding requiring 10 to 20 min. These results indicate that activation and binding of C3 fragments by the yeasts C. albicans and C. neoformans differ in several important characteristics.     

Comparative study of the C3d receptor and 58-kilodalton fibrinogen-binding mannoproteins of Candida albicans.

Using polyclonal antibodies (PAbs) raised against the Candida albicans C3d receptor (CR2; PAb anti-CR2) and the 58-kDa fibrinogen-binding mannoprotein (mp58; PAb anti-mp58) as well as ligand interactions, we have studied the relationship between these two receptors. In an indirect immunofluorescence assay with germ tubes, greater intensity was observed on the mother blastoconidium when PAb anti-CR2 was used, whereas greater intensity was localized to the hyphal extension when PAb anti-mp58 or binding of soluble fibrinogen was used. No competition or change in the fluorescence pattern was observed in dual-labeling experiments with PAb anti-CR2 and either fibrinogen or PAb anti-mp58. Binding competition also was not observed in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the components present in a beta-mercaptoethanol extract from the cell wall of germ tubes. In immunoblots, PAb anti-CR2 recognized three different discrete bands with apparent molecular masses of 21, 40, and 66 kDa in the beta-mercaptoethanol extracts from the cell wall, whereas a different, single, broader band with an apparent molecular mass of 58 kDa was detected with PAb anti-mp58. However, when nondenaturing conditions were used to separate the materials present in the cell wall extracts, no reactivity could be detected on Western blots (immunoblots) with PAb anti-mp58. When PAb anti-CR2 was used for analysis, a single band migrating in the area corresponding to approximately 40 kDa was detected. These observations suggest a higher molecular weight for mp58 and one or more of the components detected with PAb anti-CR2 in their native state.     

Isolation of avirulent clones of Candida albicans with reduced ability to recognize the CR2 ligand C3d.

Four clones of the yeast Candida albicans, isolated on the basis of their tolerance to clotrimazole, were compared with their parental strains in terms of growth, morphology, virulence, and cell surface complement receptor activity. In a newly described synthetic medium, these clones, designated C1, C2, N, and P, produced germ tubes or pseudohyphae, but no true hyphae, in a pattern which was specific for each strain. The growth of each clone at 37 degrees C, under conditions which favor the filamentous growth form of the organism, was equal to that of the parental strain (H12). The pathogenicity of each clone was tested in an intravenous mouse model. None of the mice infected with the tolerant clones but all of the mice infected with H12 developed severe renal candidiasis after infection with 1.4 x 10(6) to 2.0 x 10(6) CFU/ml. The number of CFU of each clone from the mouse kidney was reduced about 3 or 4 orders of magnitude in comparison with the wild type. As a correlate, we measured the complement receptor activity (CR2 and CR3) of each clone. The C3 ligands, iC3b and C3d, were conjugated to sheep erythrocytes (E) sensitized with antibody (A) to the erythrocytes (EA). We found that all tolerant clones showed reduced recognition of C3d-bearing sheep erythrocytes (EAC3d) in rosetting assays. Clone P showed more than an 80% reduction in rosetting of EAC3d in comparison with H12 cells. In contrast, recognition of iC3b (EAiC3b) by each of the clones was similar to that by H12 cells. When dithiothreitol extracts of clone P and H12 were compared by immunoblot, both quantitative and qualitative differences in reactivities were observed with antibodies specific for the Candida C3d receptor and with antiserum from a patient with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis.     

Participation of C3 in Intracellular Killing of Candida albicans

Using new objective methods for measuring, independently, phagcytosis and killing, it was demonstrated that Candida albicans opsonized by C3-deficient serum was ingested by not killed in vitro by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Killing could be induced by adding purified C3 to the C3-deficient serum. It is concluded that C3 participates directely in the intracellular process leading to phagocytic killing of C. albicans.     

Ubiquitin-like epitopes associated with Candida albicans cell surface receptors.

We have recently reported the cloning of a Candida albicans polyubiquitin gene and the presence of ubiquitin in the cell wall of this fungus. The polyubiquitin cDNA clone was isolated because of its reactivity with antibodies generated against the candidal 37-kDa laminin-binding protein. In the present study, we have further investigated the relationship between ubiquitin and cell wall components displaying receptor-like activities, including the 37-kDa laminin receptor, the 58-kDa fibrinogen-binding mannoprotein, and the candidal C3d receptor. Two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis and immunoblot experiments with antibodies against ubiquitin and the individually purified receptor-like molecules confirmed that these cell surface components are ubiquitinated. In an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, polyclonal antisera to each receptor reacted with ubiquitin, thus demonstrating that the purified receptor preparations used as immunogens contained ubiquitin-like epitopes. It is proposed that ubiquitin may play a role in modulating the activity of these receptors and in the interaction of C. albicans cells with host structures.     

Purification and characterization of the extracellular C3d-binding protein of Candida albicans.

A C3d-binding glycoprotein was purified from the culture filtrate of Candida albicans by preparative isoelectric focusing. The protein possessed a pI of 3.9 to 4.1 and could inhibit rosetting of EAC3d (sheep erythrocytes conjugated to C3d) by pseudohyphae of C. albicans. When analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and mercaptoethanol, the protein migrated as a doublet with apparent molecular masses of 55 and 60 kilodaltons (kDa) and as a 50-kDa band in nonreducing gels. These results were observed with Aurodye stain for proteins. Western immunoblot, and concanavalin A stain, which indicates that both bands contain carbohydrate as well as antigenic determinants. The treatment of purified glycoprotein with endoglycosidase F but not endoglycosidases H, N, and O resulted in a complete conversion of the doublet into a faster-migrating broad band with an apparent molecular mass of 45 kDa. When the amino acid analysis of the C3d-binding protein was compared with that of the CR2 from B lymphocytes, significant differences were observed. These data indicate that C. albicans secretes a C3d-binding protein during growth in vitro which appears to be different from the mammalian C3d receptor.     

Reduced expression of the functionally active complement receptor for iC3b but not for C3d on an avirulent mutant of Candida albicans.

Pseudohyphae of Candida albicans bear surface receptors for iC3b and C3d. In order to determine a possible role for these receptors in the pathogenesis of candidiasis, a spontaneous C. albicans mutant, m-10, which exhibits reduced ability to adhere in vitro to fibrin platelet clots and epithelial cells or to cause endocarditis in a rabbit model, and its parent wild-type (wt) strain were compared for receptor expression in rosetting assays with sheep erythrocytes carrying iC3b (EAC1423bi) or C3d (EAC1423d). An equally high attachment to wt and m-10 was seen with EAC1423d, whereas rosetting with EAC1423bi was reduced by 53% in m-10 compared with wt. In inhibition studies, rosetting of wt with EAC1423bi was markedly inhibited by culture filtrate, hyphal-cell extract, and DEAE-fractionated material prepared from wt (54, 87, and 70% decreases in rosetting, respectively), thus suggesting the presence of the soluble, functionally active iC3b receptor of C. albicans in each of these preparations. Minimal inhibition of iC3b rosetting, however, was seen with the identical materials from m-10 (21, 5, and 12%, respectively). All of the preparations from the two strains were equally effective in their inhibitory activities against rosetting of C3d. A human serum specimen obtained from a patient with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis blocked iC3b rosetting of the wt strain almost completely. When used in an immunoblot, this serum recognized proteins of 68 to 71, 55, and 50 kilodaltons (kDa) in hyphal-cell extracts of the wt. With the same preparation of the avirulent mutant, only weak reactions with the 68- to 71-kDa and 55-kDa proteins occurred, while the 50-kDa protein was not detectable. Taken together, these results indicate that the expression of the functionally active iC3b receptor on C. albicans may be involved in the virulence of the organism, possibly by mediating adherence to mammalian cells.     

Skin abscess caused by Candida albicans: unusual presentation of C. albicans disease.

A 9-month-old patient developed a Candida albicans skin abscess at the repair site of a lumbar myelomeningocele. There was no evidence of C. albicans infection elsewhere in the body. The infection may have been acquired at the time of the original myelomeningocele repair at 2 days of age. The abscess was cured by surgical drainage and amphotericin B therapy. This case indicates that laboratories should be aware of C. albicans as an unusual cause of abscess.     

Rapid Identification of Candida dubliniensis by Indirect Immunofluorescence Based on Differential Localization of Antigens on C. dubliniensis Blastospores and Candida albicans Germ Tubes

There is a clear need for the development of a rapid and reliable test for the identification of Candida dubliniensis and for the discrimination of this species from Candida albicans. In the present study we have investigated the potential use of C. dubliniensis-specific antigens as a basis for its identification. We produced an anti-C. dubliniensis serum which, after adsorption with C. albicans blastospores, was found to differentially label C. dubliniensis isolates in an indirect immunofluorescence test. In this test, the antiserum reacted with blastospores and germ tubes of C. dubliniensis and with blastospores of Candida krusei and Rhodotorula rubra but did not react with blastospores of several other Candida species including C. albicans. The antiserum also reacted with C. albicans germ tubes. The anti-C. dubliniensis adsorbed serum reacted with specific components of 25, 28, 37, 40, 52, and 62 kDa in the C. dubliniensis extract and with a variety of antigens from other yeast species. The antigens from non-C. dubliniensis yeasts showing reactivity with the anti-C. dubliniensis adsorbed serum are mostly expressed within the cell walls of these yeast species, and this reactivity does not interfere with the use of the anti-C. dubliniensis adsorbed serum in an indirect immunofluorescence test for the rapid identification of C. dubliniensis.     

Identification of two germ-tube-specific cell wall antigens of Candida albicans.

Outer cell wall layers of intact yeast- and mycelial-phase Candida albicans B311 were extracted with dithiothreitol. Antisera against mycelial-phase organisms were absorbed with yeast-phase organisms or yeast-phase extract and used to stain Western blots of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels loaded with yeast- and mycelial-phase extracts. Autoradiography of gels loaded with extracts from organisms surface labeled with 125I was used to detect surface antigens containing proteins. Antigen bands of interest identified in Western blots were cut from the blots and used to immunize rabbits. Two antigens were identified in the mycelial-phase extract which were not present in the yeast-phase extract. The first was a 19-kilodalton protein that was present in the cell walls of germ tubes but was not expressed on their surfaces. The second was a polysaccharide-rich high-molecular-weight antigen which was expressed on the surface of the germ tube. Treatment of mycelial-phase extract with protease and endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H demonstrated that this antigen was composed of polysaccharides linked through di-N-acetylchitobiose groups to proteins.     

Blood group glycolipids as epithelial cell receptors for Candida albicans.

The role of glycosphingolipids as possible epithelial cell receptors for Candida albicans was examined by investigating the binding of biotinylated yeasts to lipids extracted from human buccal epithelial cells and separated on thin-layer chromatograms. Binding was visualized by the addition of 125I-streptavidin followed by autoradiography. Five C. albicans strains thought from earlier work to have a requirement for fucose-containing receptors all bound to the same three components in the lipid extract. A parallel chromatogram overlaid with biotinylated Ulex europaeus lectin, which is a fucose-binding lectin with a specificity for the H blood group antigen, showed that two of these glycosphingolipids carried this antigenic determinant. Preparations of crude and purified adhesin (a protein with a size of 15.7 kDa which lacked cysteine residues) from one of the strains also bound to these same two components. The third glycosphingolipid, which bound whole cells but neither preparation of adhesin, was recognized by Helix pomatia lectin, indicating that it contained N-acetylgalactosamine, possibly in the form of the A blood group antigen. Overlay assays with a sixth strain of C. albicans (GDH 2023) revealed a completely different binding pattern of four receptors, each of which contained N-acetylglucosamine. These results confirm earlier predictions about the receptor specificity of the strains made on the basis of adhesion inhibition studies and indicate that blood group antigens can act as epithelial cell receptors for C. albicans.     

Fungicidal monoclonal antibody C7 binds to Candida albicans Als3

Monoclonal antibody (MAb) C7 reacted with a >200-kDa component from the Candida albicans cell wall identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry as Als3. It also bound the recombinant N terminus of Als3. Binding of MAb C7 to Als3 may explain the biological activities exerted by the MAb on C. albicans.     

Fimbria-mediated adherence of Candida albicans to glycosphingolipid receptors on human buccal epithelial cells.

Candida albicans is an opportunist fungal pathogen that has the ability to adhere to host cell surface receptors via a number of adhesins. Yu et al. (L. Yu, K. K. Lee, K. Ens, P. C. Doig, M. R. Carpenter, W. Staddon, R. S. Hodges, W. Paranchych, and R. T. Irvin, Infect. Immun. 62:2834-2842, 1994) described the purification and initial characterization of a fimbrial adhesin from C. albicans. In this paper, we show that C. albicans fimbriae also bind to asialo-GM1 [gangliotetraosylceramide: beta Gal(1-3)beta GalNAc(1-4) beta Gal(1-4)beta Glc(1-1)Cer] immobilized on microtiter plates in a saturable and concentration-dependent manner. C. albicans fimbrial binding to exfoliated human buccal epithelial cells (BECs) was inhibited by asialo-GM1 in in vitro binding assays. The fimbriae interact with the glycosphingolipid receptors via the carbohydrate portion of the receptors, since fimbriae were observed to bind to synthetic beta GalNAc(1-4)beta Gal-protein conjugates and the disaccharide was able to inhibit binding of fimbriae to BECs in in vitro binding assays. We conclude from these results that the C. albicans yeast form expresses a fimbrial adhesin that binds to glycosphingolipids displayed on the surface of human BECs.     

C3bi-binding protein on Candida albicans: temperature-dependent expression and relationship to human complement receptor type 3.

We investigated in detail the previously described capacity of pseudohyphae of Candida albicans to bind C3-coated particles. We show that the expression of the C3bi receptor of C. albicans was dependent upon the growth temperature of the fungi. C. albicans grown at 30 degrees C bound strongly to EAC1423bi, whereas those cells grown at 38.5 degrees C were completely devoid of this capacity. The molecule responsible for the attachment of EAC1423bi was heat labile and trypsin sensitive. Several, but not all, monoclonal antibodies to the alpha-chain of human complement receptor type 3 (CR3) stained C. albicans, and this reactivity was expressed in parallel with the capacity of C. albicans to bind EAC1423bi, i.e., both were dependent on the growth temperature of the fungi and were trypsin sensitive. In contrast to CR3, the binding of EAC1423bi to C. albicans did not require the presence of divalent cations. Rabbit immunoglobulin G antibodies directed against C. albicans inhibited the binding of EAC1423bi to C. albicans but not to human CR3. These inhibiting IgG antibodies recognized antigens expressed on the surface of pseudohyphae but not those of yeast cells. OKM-1, a monoclonal antibody to human CR3 inhibited the attachment of EAC1423bi to CR3 and also to C. albicans. OKM-1 precipitated a 130-kilodalton band from solubilized 125I-labeled C. albicans. We conclude that the complement receptors on C. albicans and human CR3 were antigenically related but not identical and that they differed in their functional characteristics.     

Evidence for expression of the C3d receptor of Candida albicans in vitro and in vivo obtained by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy.

The complement conversion product C3d binds to a receptor on the cell surface of Candida albicans. While the function of this receptor is still uncertain, we investigated whether it is expressed during a murine infection. Rabbit antiserum raised against purified receptor was used in conjunction with immunofluorescence microscopy and immunocolloidal gold electron microscopy to examine kidney tissue and peritoneal lavages from infected mice for receptor expression by C. albicans in vivo. Specificity of the antiserum was indicated by reactivity with purified receptor (55 to 60 kDa) and with a protein of similar molecular mass from whole hyphal extracts in Western blots (immunoblots). In vitro analysis by immunofluorescence microscopy showed that the antiserum reacted with both yeast and pseudohyphal forms of the organism, but reactivity was strongest with pseudohyphae. Immunocolloidal gold electron microscopy of fungal cells from peritoneal lavages revealed intense staining of mother cells of germinative forms, germ tubes, and pseudohyphae. Staining of the mother cells was heaviest at the innermost layers of the cell wall but only scant on the cell surface. In contrast, staining was observed throughout the cell walls of germ tubes and pseudohyphae. In kidney, expression of the C3d receptor was found primarily on the cell walls of hyphae and pseudohyphae, although some staining was observed in the cytoplasm. These data support that the C3d receptor of C. albicans is expressed in vivo.     

Xenoantiserum to human C3 receptors: its preparation and effect on the C3b and C3d receptors of tonsil cells and the C3b receptors of erythrocytes and neutrophils.

Antisera directed against complement (C3) receptors on human tonsil cells were prepared and tested for their capacity to block specifically C3 receptors on various types of human cells. The antisera were capable of blocking both membrane-bound and solubilized C3 receptors of human tonsil cells. The C3b receptors of human erythrocytes and granulocytes were also blocked by the anti-C3 receptor sera. Sheep erythrocyte rosette formation was not affected. IgG-EoxA rosette formation was only slightly reduced by the anti-C3 receptor sera. Immunofluorescent staining with anti-C3 receptor sera revealed only a faint or negative staining of T cells and a distinct staining of EAC-reactive tonsil cells, lymphocytic leukaemia cells, and granulocytes. Absorption of the antisera with human serum proteins, brain, thymus, liver, EU-1 cell line cells, or trypsinized tonsil cells did not influence the capacity of the anti-C3 receptor sera to inhibit C3 receptors, whereas absorption with splenic tissue or tonsil cells completely removed the blocking activity of the anti-C3 receptor sera. Absorption with human erythrocytes or kidney removed only the inhibitory effect of the antisera on C3b receptors of tonsil cells, human erythrocytes, and granulocytes, but not on C3d receptors of tonsil cells. The results indicate that (a) the antisera prepared with the described procedure contained significant amounts of antibody against C3 receptors, (b) the receptors for C3b and C3d differe in antigenicity, and (c) the C3b receptors of tonsil cells, human erythrocytes, granulocytes, and probably glomerular cells have common antigenic sites.