Chapter 9 - Essential functional modules for pathogenic and defensive mechanisms via host/pathogen crosstalk network by database mining and two-sided microarray data identification

Abstract

The clinical and biological significance of the study of fungal pathogen Candida albicans has markedly increased. However, the explicit pathogenic and invasive mechanisms of such host–pathogen interactions have not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore the essential functional modules involved in C. albicans–zebrafish interactions were investigated in this chapter. Adopting a systems biology approach, the early-stage and late-stage protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks for both C. albicans and zebrafish were constructed. By comparing PPI networks at the early and late stages of the infection process of C. albicans, several critical functional modules were identified in both pathogenic and defensive mechanisms. Functional modules in C. albicans, like those involved in hyphal morphogenesis, ion and small molecule transport, protein secretion, and shifts in carbon utilization, were seen to play important roles in pathogen invasion and damage caused to host cells. Moreover, the functional modules induced in zebrafish, such as those involved in immune response, apoptosis mechanisms, ion transport, protein secretion, and hemostasis-related processes, were also found to be significant as defensive mechanisms during C. albicans infection. The essential functional modules thus investigated in this chapter could provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of host–pathogen interactions during the infection process and thereby significant biomarkers to devise potential therapeutic strategies to treat C. albicans infection.