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Mini-Review |
1 Department of Oral Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
2 Department of Bioactive Molecules, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence
Richard D. Cannon
richard.cannon{at}otago.ac.nz
| ABSTRACT |
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| Introduction |
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Exposure to antifungal drugs is, for C. albicans, another environmental stress that stimulates responses to mitigate the harmful effects of the drugs and permit continued growth. The antifungal stress is transduced through signalling pathways that induce stress responses and affect the growth and virulence of the organism. Stress-response signalling and its interrelation with C. albicans morphogenesis and virulence are complex and beyond the scope of this mini-review. Signalling pathways, and their role in virulence, have been excellently reviewed by Quinn & Brown (2007)
, Monge et al. (2006)
and Roman et al. (2007)
. Although little is known about stress responses in non-albicans Candida species, the stress-response pathways in the model yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe have been well studied (Roman et al., 2007
). Despite extensive congruence in the fungal stress-response networks, there are significant differences in the stress responses of C. albicans (Enjalbert et al., 2006
). Therefore, although major differences in the stress responses of other fungi will be noted, this review will focus specifically on how C. albicans responds to antifungal stress and how the development of resistance is a component of the stress-response network of C. albicans.
| Antifungal drug targets in C. Albicans |
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-lanosterol demethylase, encoded by the ERG11 gene, which is part of the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway. Inhibition of Erg11p depletes the ergosterol content of membranes and results in the accumulation of toxic sterol pathway intermediates which inhibit growth (Akins, 2005
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| Stress response in C. Albicans |
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The serine/threonine protein phosphatase calcineurin is highly conserved in eukaryotes and is activated in response to several stresses. It has important physiological roles in C. albicans, and is essential for survival during membrane stress (Cruz et al., 2002
). C. albicans calcineurin is a heterodimer composed of a catalytic subunit A (encoded by CMP1 [CNA1]) and a regulatory subunit B (encoded by CNB1) (Fig. 3
). The phosphatase activity of calcineurin is activated when it binds calmodulin in the presence of calcium ions and it affects gene expression via transcriptional regulators such as Crz1p. Calcineurin mediates tolerance to a variety of stresses, including salt and high pH in addition to membrane stress (Steinbach et al., 2007
) (Fig. 2
). Calcineurin is essential for survival in serum (Bader et al., 2006
) and it is the calcium component of serum that is toxic for C. albicans in the absence of functional calcineurin (Blankenship & Heitman, 2005
). Calcineurin also plays an important role in the tolerance of C. albicans to certain antifungal drugs (see below).
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| Antifungal drug resistance |
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There are multiple mechanisms that can give rise to azole resistance in C. albicans (Fig. 1b
). The drug target, Erg11p, can be overexpressed or can develop point mutations that reduce fluconazole binding (Akins, 2005
; Sanglard & Bille, 2002
; White et al., 1998
). Azole-induced C. albicans growth inhibition is caused by reduction in the ergosterol content of membranes, and also by the accumulation of toxic ergosterol precursors such as 14
-methylergosta-8,24(28)-dien-3β,6
-diol. If Erg3p is inactivated by mutation, in the presence of fluconazole these cells accumulate the non-toxic sterol 14
-methylfecosterol. High-level azole resistance correlates with overexpression in the plasma membrane of the MFS drug pump Mdr1p, or the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) pumps Cdr1p or Cdr2p (Perea et al., 2001
; White et al., 1998
). These proteins have been found to pump a variety of substrates, including the azoles (Lamping et al., 2007
), but they do not pump the echinocandins (Niimi et al., 2006
). Little clinical resistance to the echinocandins has been reported so far. This may reflect its limited use to date, or that resistance events are rare. Echinocandin-resistant C. albicans isolates have point mutations in (1,3)-β-glucan synthase subunit Gsc1p (Baixench et al., 2007
).
One way to discover antifungal drug resistance mechanisms is to compare resistant clinical isolates with their susceptible parents (Perea et al., 2001
; White, 1997
). Another way is to select for resistance in vitro (Albertson et al., 1996
; Anderson, 2005
; Cowen et al., 2000
). These studies have shown distinct patterns in the type and combinations of mechanisms that evolve in C. albicans populations to confer azole resistance. Often the patterns of mechanisms that evolve mimic those seen in clinical isolates, described above, validating this approach (Anderson, 2005
). Interestingly, there is often a fitness gain associated with the development of azole resistance and so resistant isolates may persist in the population after the cessation of azole therapy (Anderson, 2005
). In vitro studies have also demonstrated a role for Hsp90, a molecular chaperone for calcineurin, in promoting the rapid acquisition of fluconazole resistance by C. albicans (Cowen & Lindquist, 2005
; Cowen et al., 2006
).
| Antifungal drug resistance is a stress response |
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Most of the established antifungal resistance mechanisms are due to genetic mutation – usually point mutations in genes encoding drug targets or enzymes in metabolic pathways, or transcription factors leading to gene overexpression. Such mutations are stable, take time to be acquired, and can be thought of as long-term stress responses. Likewise, azole resistance can be caused by genetic rearrangements (Perepnikhatka et al., 1999
) or aneuploidy (Selmecki et al., 2006
) affecting the expression of drug targets, pumps or transcription factors. Antifungal drugs also, however, stimulate classic immediate stress responses. These can be thought of as reversible phenotypic responses that do not involve mutation or chromosomal rearrangement. Phenotypic switching and biofilm formation are other phenotypic responses that can increase drug resistance (Akins, 2005
). The short-term phenotypic stress responses that lead to drug tolerance are important because they may allow C. albicans cells to develop long-term stable resistance mechanisms that could also confer a fitness gain.
An insight into the immediate stress responses induced by antifungals can be gained by transcript profiling cells exposed to drugs at, or below, their MIC. Liu et al. (2005)
examined the effect of exposing C. albicans to 5-FC, amphotericin B, ketoconazole or caspofungin at concentrations equating to their IC50s (concentrations that inhibit growth by 50 %). Exposure of cells to 5-FC resulted in increased expression of genes involved in purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis, including the gene implicated in resistance, FUR1, and the drug target CDC21 (Liu et al., 2005
). Ketoconazole induced expression of genes involved in ergosterol biosynthesis, including ERG3 and the target ERG11, the ABC drug efflux pumps CDR1 and CDR2, and a putative sphingolipid flippase RTA3. The response of cells to amphotericin B was upregulation of genes involved in Ca2+, K+, Na+, Zn2+ and sulphate transport and downregulation of phosphate, H+, citrate, Cu2+ and Fe2+ transporters. In addition, there was upregulation of oxidative stress-response genes such as AOX1, SOD2 and GSH1, consistent with amphotericin B causing oxidative damage (Sanglard & Bille, 2002
). Caspofungin exposure induced the expression of several genes involved in cell wall maintenance, including the gene encoding the (1,3)-β-glucan synthase subunit GSL1 (GSL22).
While it is not surprising that exposure to antifungals induced upregulation of drug targets and genes already identified as contributing to resistance, what is noteworthy is the number of other genes that were differentially expressed: 439 for 5-FC; 256 for amphotericin B; 82 for ketoconazole; and 480 for caspofungin exposure (Liu et al., 2005
). This in itself is also not surprising as the stresses will activate response networks involving transcriptional regulators with multiple substrates, as described above. It does raise the prospect, however, of identifying other potential drug targets including components of the stress-response pathways.
| Antifungal drug tolerance |
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| Prospects of overcoming drug resistance |
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| Conclusions |
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This perspective on antifungal drug resistance suggests several possible ways of overcoming, or preventing, drug resistance. Combination therapy can be used to attack two different targets simultaneously with a low probability that resistance to both drugs will arise, or to attack a drug target and its resistance mechanism (cf. augmentin). While combination therapy sounds attractive, and it has been reported that antimicrobial combinations can actually select against the development of resistance (Chait et al., 2007
), clinical results are variable and there are increased efficacy testing requirements.
Another prospect for resistance prevention is to abrogate the initial stress response that permits tolerance and the development of resistance. Calcineurin, Hsp90 and other stress-response components provide a range of targets. A suitable tolerance inhibitor may render the azole fluconazole more potent and fungicidal, thus creating a wider window of therapeutic efficacy. Other potential targets include biofilm formation or transcriptional regulators of efflux pumps such as Tac1p, Upc2p or Mcm1p (Coste et al., 2006
; Riggle & Kumamoto, 2006
; Silver et al., 2004
). Provided host toxicity is not a problem, selection of resistance can also be precluded clinically by simply prescribing high doses of antifungals.
A third strategy is to choose drug targets and select drug candidates more carefully. Rapidly acting fungicidal drugs are better, theoretically, than fungistatic drugs as they do not allow the selection of resistant variants. Therefore essential gene products make better targets than non-essential gene products. Extracellular targets are also better than intracellular targets as the intracellular action of drugs provides more options for drug inactivation, sequestration and efflux-pump-mediated resistance. Drug candidates should be screened as potential substrates of known drug pumps (Niimi et al., 2006
), and the in vitro mutagenesis of the target, or selection of resistant host cells, could be used to give an indication of the likelihood of resistance developing (Anderson, 2005
).
In summary, in order to ensure that novel antifungals are not merely additional stresses to which C. albicans will respond with tolerance and resistance, it is imperative to elucidate the biology, physiology and underlying stress responses of this important fungus.
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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