Abstract
The diploid, polymorphic yeast Candida albicans is one of the most important human pathogenic fungi. C. albicans can grow, proliferate and coexist as a commensal on or within the human host for a long time. However, alterations in the host environment can render C. albicans virulent. In this review, we describe the immunological cross-talk between C. albicans and the human innate immune system. We give an overview in form of pairs of human defense strategies including immunological mechanisms as well as general stressors such as nutrient limitation, pH, fever etc. and the corresponding fungal response and evasion mechanisms. Furthermore, Computational Systems Biology approaches to model and investigate these complex interactions are highlighted with a special focus on game-theoretical methods and agent-based models. An outlook on interesting questions to be tackled by Systems Biology regarding entangled defense and evasion mechanisms is given.
Highlights
The diploid, polymorphic yeast Candida albicans (Wilson et al, 2009; Kwak et al, 2014; Mech et al, 2014) is one of the most important human pathogenic fungi (Lu et al, 2014; Vylkova and Lorenz, 2014; Whittington et al, 2014)
We have given an overview of the immune defense mechanisms of the human host against C. albicans and the evasion mechanisms of the fungus to escape, circumvent or counteract the immune response
While earlier reviews have given an overview of experimental observations on C. albicans defense and evasion strategies, we present here an integrative synthesis of experimental observation and theoretical modeling of infection strategies of C. albicans
Summary
The diploid, polymorphic yeast Candida albicans (Wilson et al, 2009; Kwak et al, 2014; Mech et al, 2014) is one of the most important human pathogenic fungi (Lu et al, 2014; Vylkova and Lorenz, 2014; Whittington et al, 2014). Severe mucosal diseases and lifethreatening systemic infections arise in immunocompromised individuals (Yan et al, 2013; Mech et al, 2014; Wellington et al, 2014) These invasive infections of the bloodstream and virtually every organ of the human body (Wilson et al, 2009; Mayer et al, 2013; Vylkova and Lorenz, 2014) are associated with a severe morbidity (Faro-Trindade and Brown, 2009; Zipfel et al, 2011; Cheng et al, 2012; Luo et al, 2013), an unexeptably high mortality (Zipfel et al, 2011; Filler, 2013; Yan et al, 2013) and high healthcare costs (Yan et al, 2013; Vialas et al, 2014). These approaches are useful to depict the highly complex and dynamic host-pathogen interactions and can help to gain further insights into the underlying processes of C. albicans infections
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