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Review
. 2015 Jul;97(1):7-17.
doi: 10.1111/mmi.13020. Epub 2015 May 9.

Dressed to impress: impact of environmental adaptation on the Candida albicans cell wall

Rebecca A Hall  1
Affiliations
Review

Dressed to impress: impact of environmental adaptation on the Candida albicans cell wall

Rebecca A Hall. Mol Microbiol. 2015 Jul.

Abstract

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen of humans causing superficial mucosal infections and life-threatening systemic disease. The fungal cell wall is the first point of contact between the invading pathogen and the host innate immune system. As a result, the polysaccharides that comprise the cell wall act as pathogen associated molecular patterns, which govern the host-pathogen interaction. The cell wall is dynamic and responsive to changes in the external environment. Therefore, the host environment plays a critical role in regulating the host-pathogen interaction through modulation of the fungal cell wall. This review focuses on how environmental adaptation modulates the cell wall structure and composition, and the subsequent impact this has on the innate immune recognition of C. albicans.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Local environmental conditions influence the N‐mannan structure and composition of C . albicans. Diagrammatic representation of the changes the environment imposes on fungal N‐mannan, as determined by a series of NMR studies. Predicted epitopes for C andida antigen factors mentioned in the text are depicted on the wild‐type mannan.
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