May G S, Xue T, Kontoyiannis D P, Gustin M C
Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Med Mycol. 2005 May;43 Suppl 1:S83-6. doi: 10.1080/13693780400024784.
In microbial eukaryotes, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways play a pivotal role in regulating cellular physiology. In fungi MAPK pathways have established functions in mating-pheromone responses, maintaining cell wall integrity, responding to changes in osmolarity and nutrient sensing. We have been studying MAPK functions in the human pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. The genome of A. fumigatus has four MAPK genes, sakA/hogA, mpkA, mpkB and mpkC. Deletion of the sakA gene produces a strain that does not correctly regulate conidial germination, sense environmental nitrogen or responds to hypertonic stress. The function of the remaining MAPK genes is still under investigation, but by analogy to work in other filamentous fungi, we speculate as to their possible functions in A. fumigatus.
在微生物真核生物中，丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）信号通路在调节细胞生理过程中起着关键作用。在真菌中，MAPK信号通路在交配信息素应答、维持细胞壁完整性、响应渗透压变化和营养感知方面具有既定功能。我们一直在研究人类致病真菌烟曲霉中的MAPK功能。烟曲霉的基因组有四个MAPK基因，即sakA/hogA、mpkA、mpkB和mpkC。sakA基因的缺失产生了一种不能正确调节分生孢子萌发、感知环境氮或对高渗胁迫作出反应的菌株。其余MAPK基因的功能仍在研究中，但通过与其他丝状真菌的研究进行类比，我们推测了它们在烟曲霉中的可能功能。
