Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America.
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America.
PLoS Genet. 2021 Sep 30;17(9):e1009582. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009582. eCollection 2021 Sep.
The most commonly used antifungal drugs are the azole compounds, which interfere with biosynthesis of the fungal-specific sterol: ergosterol. The pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata commonly acquires resistance to azole drugs like fluconazole via mutations in a gene encoding a transcription factor called PDR1. These PDR1 mutations lead to overproduction of drug transporter proteins like the ATP-binding cassette transporter Cdr1. In other Candida species, mutant forms of a transcription factor called Upc2 are associated with azole resistance, owing to the important role of this protein in control of expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway. Recently, the C. glabrata Upc2A factor was demonstrated to be required for normal azole resistance, even in the presence of a hyperactive mutant form of PDR1. Using genome-scale approaches, we define the network of genes bound and regulated by Upc2A. By analogy to a previously described hyperactive UPC2 mutation found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we generated a similar form of Upc2A in C. glabrata called G898D Upc2A. Analysis of Upc2A genomic binding sites demonstrated that wild-type Upc2A binding to target genes was strongly induced by fluconazole while G898D Upc2A bound similarly, irrespective of drug treatment. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that, in addition to the well-described ERG genes, a large group of genes encoding components of the translational apparatus along with membrane proteins were responsive to Upc2A. These Upc2A-regulated membrane protein-encoding genes are often targets of the Pdr1 transcription factor, demonstrating the high degree of overlap between these two regulatory networks. Finally, we provide evidence that Upc2A impacts the Pdr1-Cdr1 system and also modulates resistance to caspofungin. These studies provide a new perspective of Upc2A as a master regulator of lipid and membrane protein biosynthesis.
最常用的抗真菌药物是唑类化合物,它们会干扰真菌特有的固醇:麦角固醇的生物合成。致病性酵母近平滑念珠菌通常通过编码转录因子 PDR1 的基因发生突变而对唑类药物如氟康唑产生耐药性。这些 PDR1 突变导致药物转运蛋白如 ATP 结合盒转运蛋白 Cdr1 的过度产生。在其他念珠菌属物种中,转录因子 Upc2 的突变形式与唑类耐药性有关,这归因于该蛋白在控制参与麦角固醇生物合成途径的基因表达中的重要作用。最近,即使存在高活性突变形式的 PDR1,C. glabrata 的 Upc2A 因子也被证明是正常唑类耐药性所必需的。通过全基因组方法,我们定义了 Upc2A 结合和调节的基因网络。通过类比在酿酒酵母中发现的先前描述的超活性 UPC2 突变,我们在 C. glabrata 中生成了一种类似的 Upc2A 形式,称为 G898D Upc2A。对 Upc2A 基因组结合位点的分析表明,野生型 Upc2A 对靶基因的结合在氟康唑存在下强烈诱导,而 G898D Upc2A 以类似的方式结合,而与药物处理无关。转录组分析显示,除了众所周知的 ERG 基因外,一大组编码翻译装置组件以及膜蛋白的基因对 Upc2A 有反应。这些受 Upc2A 调节的膜蛋白编码基因通常是 Pdr1 转录因子的靶标,表明这两个调控网络之间存在高度重叠。最后,我们提供了证据表明 Upc2A 影响 Pdr1-Cdr1 系统并调节对卡泊芬净的耐药性。这些研究为 Upc2A 作为脂质和膜蛋白生物合成的主调控因子提供了新的视角。