Stefanie Allert

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About Stefanie Allert:

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SEEK ID: https://funginet.hki-jena.de/people/99

Location: Germany

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Collaborative Research Center / Transregio 124 "Pathogenic fungi and their human host: Networks of Interaction - FungiNet"

The yeast Candida albicans and the filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus are by far the most important causes of life-threatening invasive mycoses in Europe. Despite the increasing incidence of these infections, the current diagnosis is still difficult and often too late, and options for therapies are limited. Moreover, A. fumigatus and C. albicans have developed multiple sophisticated, specific and unique pathogenicity mechanisms. Many of these mechanisms are not well understood. Research on ...

Projects: FungiNet total, FungiNet A - Aspergillus projects, FungiNet B - Bioinformatics projects, FungiNet C - Candida projects, INF, A1, A2, A3, A4 (E), A5, B1, B2, B3 (E), B4, C1, C2, C3, C4 (E), C5, C6 (E), Z2, Z1, B5, A6, A7, A8, C7

Web page: http://www.funginet.de/home.html

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FungiNet total

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Programme: Collaborative Research Center / Transregio 124 "Pathogenic fungi and their human host: Networks of Interaction - FungiNet"

Public web page: http://www.funginet.de/home.html

Organisms: Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans

Molecular mycology, fungal/host interactions, pathogenicity mechanisms of Candida albicans

Programme: Collaborative Research Center / Transregio 124 "Pathogenic fungi and their human host: Networks of Interaction - FungiNet"

Public web page: http://www.funginet.de/project-c1.html

Organisms: Candida albicans, Homo sapiens, Candida glabrata, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis

FungiNet C - Candida projects

No description specified

Programme: Collaborative Research Center / Transregio 124 "Pathogenic fungi and their human host: Networks of Interaction - FungiNet"

Public web page: http://www.funginet.de/project-area-c.html

Organisms: Candida albicans

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Leibniz-Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology Hans Knöll Institute (HKI)

Country: Germany

City: 07745 Jena

Web page: http://www.hki-jena.de

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From environmental adaptation to host survival: Attributes that mediate pathogenicity of Candida auris.

INF, C1

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Candida species are a major cause of invasive fungal infections. While Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis are the most dominant species causing life-threatening candidiasis, …

Authors: S. Allert, D. Schulz, P. Kammer, P. Grossmann, T. Wolf, S. Schauble, G. Panagiotou, S. Brunke, B. Hube

Date Published: 10th Feb 2022

Publication Type: Journal

PubMed ID: 35142597

Citation: Virulence. 2022 Dec;13(1):191-214. doi: 10.1080/21505594.2022.2026037.

Created: 19th Jan 2024 at 12:15

Survival Strategies of Pathogenic Candida Species in Human Blood Show Independent and Specific Adaptations.

INF, B3 (E), C1, C3

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Only four species, Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis, together account for about 90% of all Candida bloodstream infections and are among the most common causes of invasive … fungal infections of humans. However, virulence potential varies among these species, and the phylogenetic tree reveals that their pathogenicity may have emerged several times independently during evolution. We therefore tested these four species in a human whole-blood infection model to determine, via comprehensive dual-species RNA-sequencing analyses, which fungal infection strategies are conserved and which are recent evolutionary developments. The ex vivo infection progressed from initial immune cell interactions to nearly complete killing of all fungal cells. During the course of infection, we characterized important parameters of pathogen-host interactions, such as fungal survival, types of interacting immune cells, and cytokine release. On the transcriptional level, we obtained a predominantly uniform and species-independent human response governed by a strong upregulation of proinflammatory processes, which was downregulated at later time points after most of the fungal cells were killed. In stark contrast, we observed that the different fungal species pursued predominantly individual strategies and showed significantly different global transcriptome patterns. Among other findings, our functional analyses revealed that the fungal species relied on different metabolic pathways and virulence factors to survive the host-imposed stress. These data show that adaptation of Candida species as a response to the host is not a phylogenetic trait, but rather has likely evolved independently as a prerequisite to cause human infections.IMPORTANCE To ensure their survival, pathogens have to adapt immediately to new environments in their hosts, for example, during the transition from the gut to the bloodstream. Here, we investigated the basis of this adaptation in a group of fungal species which are among the most common causes of hospital-acquired infections, the Candida species. On the basis of a human whole-blood infection model, we studied which genes and processes are active over the course of an infection in both the host and four different Candida pathogens. Remarkably, we found that, while the human host response during the early phase of infection is predominantly uniform, the pathogens pursue largely individual strategies and each one regulates genes involved in largely disparate processes in the blood. Our results reveal that C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis all have developed individual strategies for survival in the host. This indicates that their pathogenicity in humans has evolved several times independently and that genes which are central for survival in the host for one species may be irrelevant in another.

Authors: P. Kammer, S. McNamara, T. Wolf, T. Conrad, S. Allert, F. Gerwien, K. Hunniger, O. Kurzai, R. Guthke, B. Hube, J. Linde, S. Brunke

Date Published: 6th Oct 2020

Publication Type: Not specified

PubMed ID: 33024045

Citation: mBio. 2020 Oct 6;11(5). pii: mBio.02435-20. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02435-20.

Created: 11th Feb 2021 at 08:45, Last updated: 17th Jan 2024 at 10:24

Candida albicans-Induced Epithelial Damage Mediates Translocation through Intestinal Barriers.

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Life-threatening systemic infections often occur due to the translocation of pathogens across the gut barrier and into the bloodstream. While the microbial and host mechanisms permitting bacterial gut … translocation are well characterized, these mechanisms are still unclear for fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans, a leading cause of nosocomial fungal bloodstream infections. In this study, we dissected the cellular mechanisms of translocation of C. albicans across intestinal epithelia in vitro and identified fungal genes associated with this process. We show that fungal translocation is a dynamic process initiated by invasion and followed by cellular damage and loss of epithelial integrity. A screen of >2,000 C. albicans deletion mutants identified genes required for cellular damage of and translocation across enterocytes. Correlation analysis suggests that hypha formation, barrier damage above a minimum threshold level, and a decreased epithelial integrity are required for efficient fungal translocation. Translocation occurs predominantly via a transcellular route, which is associated with fungus-induced necrotic epithelial damage, but not apoptotic cell death. The cytolytic peptide toxin of C. albicans, candidalysin, was found to be essential for damage of enterocytes and was a key factor in subsequent fungal translocation, suggesting that transcellular translocation of C. albicans through intestinal layers is mediated by candidalysin. However, fungal invasion and low-level translocation can also occur via non-transcellular routes in a candidalysin-independent manner. This is the first study showing translocation of a human-pathogenic fungus across the intestinal barrier being mediated by a peptide toxin.IMPORTANCECandida albicans, usually a harmless fungus colonizing human mucosae, can cause lethal bloodstream infections when it manages to translocate across the intestinal epithelium. This can result from antibiotic treatment, immune dysfunction, or intestinal damage (e.g., during surgery). However, fungal processes may also contribute. In this study, we investigated the translocation process of C. albicans using in vitro cell culture models. Translocation occurs as a stepwise process starting with invasion, followed by epithelial damage and loss of epithelial integrity. The ability to secrete candidalysin, a peptide toxin deriving from the hyphal protein Ece1, is key: C. albicans hyphae, secreting candidalysin, take advantage of a necrotic weakened epithelium to translocate through the intestinal layer.

Authors: S. Allert, T. M. Forster, C. M. Svensson, J. P. Richardson, T. Pawlik, B. Hebecker, S. Rudolphi, M. Juraschitz, M. Schaller, M. Blagojevic, J. Morschhauser, M. T. Figge, I. D. Jacobsen, J. R. Naglik, L. Kasper, S. Mogavero, B. Hube

Date Published: 5th Jun 2018

Publication Type: Not specified

PubMed ID: 29871918

Citation: mBio. 2018 Jun 5;9(3). pii: mBio.00915-18. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00915-18.

Created: 11th Feb 2021 at 15:45, Last updated: 17th Jan 2024 at 10:24

The Snf1-activating kinase Sak1 is a key regulator of metabolic adaptation and in vivo fitness of Candida albicans.

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The metabolic flexibility of the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is important for colonisation and infection of different host niches. Complex regulatory networks, in which protein kinases …

Authors: B. Ramirez-Zavala, A. Mottola, J. Haubenreisser, S. Schneider, S. Allert, S. Brunke, K. Ohlsen, B. Hube, J. Morschhauser

Date Published: 25th Mar 2017

Publication Type: Not specified

PubMed ID: 28337802

Citation: Mol Microbiol. 2017 Jun;104(6):989-1007. doi: 10.1111/mmi.13674. Epub 2017 Apr 18.

Created: 16th Feb 2021 at 14:03, Last updated: 17th Jan 2024 at 10:24

Candida albicans Induces Metabolic Reprogramming in Human NK Cells and Responds to Perforin with a Zinc Depletion Response

FungiNet A - Aspergillus projects, FungiNet C - Candida projects

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As part of the innate immune system, natural killer (NK) cells are directly involved in the response to fungal infections. Perforin has been identified as the major effector molecule acting against …

Authors: , J. Voigt, M. Bouzani, , , , , R. Martin, ,