人类牙齿作为真菌的栖息地:牙菌斑分离株中白色念珠菌的特征。
Human Tooth as a Fungal Niche: Candida albicans Traits in Dental Plaque Isolates.
机构信息
Biofilm Research Laboratories, Department of Orthodontics, Divisions of Community Oral Health & Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases and National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
出版信息
mBio. 2023 Feb 28;14(1):e0276922. doi: 10.1128/mbio.02769-22. Epub 2023 Jan 5.
Candida albicans, a fungus typically found in the mucosal niche, is frequently detected in biofilms formed on teeth (dental plaque) of toddlers with severe childhood caries, a global public health problem that causes rampant tooth decay. However, knowledge about fungal traits on the tooth surface remains limited. Here, we assess the phylogeny, phenotype, and interkingdom interactions of C. albicans isolated from plaque of diseased toddlers and compare their properties to reference strains, including 529L (mucosal isolate). C. albicans isolates exhibit broad phenotypic variations, but all display cariogenic traits, including high proteinase activity, acidogenicity, and acid tolerance. Unexpectedly, we find distinctive variations in filamentous growth, ranging from hyphal defective to hyperfilamentous. We then investigate the ability of tooth isolates to form interkingdom biofilms with Streptococcus mutans (cariogenic partner) and Streptococcus gordonii (mucosal partner). The hyphal-defective isolate lacks cobinding with S. gordonii, but all C. albicans isolates develop robust biofilms with S. mutans irrespective of their filamentation state. Moreover, either type of C. albicans (hyphae defective or hyperfilamentous) enhances sucrose metabolism and biofilm acidogenicity, creating highly acidic environmental pH (<5.5). Notably, C. albicans isolates show altered transcriptomes associated with pH, adhesion, and cell wall composition (versus reference strains), further supporting niche-associated traits. Our data reveal that C. albicans displays distinctive adaptive mechanisms on the tooth surface and develops interactions with pathogenic bacteria while creating an acidogenic state regardless of fungal morphology, contrasting with interkingdom partnerships in mucosal infections. Human tooth may provide new insights into fungal colonization/adaptation, interkingdom biofilms, and contributions to disease pathogenesis. Severe early childhood caries is a widespread global public health problem causing extensive tooth decay and systemic complications. Candida albicans, a fungus typically found in mucosal surfaces, is frequently detected in dental plaque formed on teeth of diseased toddlers. However, the clinical traits of C. albicans isolated from tooth remain underexplored. Here, we find that C. albicans tooth isolates exhibit unique biological and transcriptomic traits. Notably, interkingdom biofilms with S. mutans can be formed irrespective of their filamentation state. Furthermore, tooth isolates commonly share dental caries-promoting functions, including acidogenesis, proteolytic activity, and enhanced sugar metabolism, while displaying increased expression of pH-responsive and adhesion genes. Our findings reveal that C. albicans colonizing human teeth displays distinctive adaptive mechanisms to mediate interkingdom interactions associated with a disease-causing state on a mineralized surface, providing new insights into pathobiology and its role in a costly pediatric disease.
白色念珠菌是一种常见于黏膜生态位的真菌,通常在幼儿严重龋齿形成的牙菌斑(牙斑)中被检测到,这是一个全球性的公共卫生问题,导致猖獗的牙齿腐烂。然而,关于牙齿表面真菌特征的知识仍然有限。在这里,我们评估了从患病幼儿牙菌斑中分离出的白色念珠菌的系统发育、表型和种间相互作用,并将其特性与参考菌株进行比较,包括 529L(黏膜分离株)。白色念珠菌分离株表现出广泛的表型变异,但都表现出致龋特性,包括高蛋白酶活性、产酸和耐酸。出乎意料的是,我们发现丝状生长存在明显的变异,从菌丝缺陷到过度丝状。然后,我们研究了牙分离株与变形链球菌(致龋伙伴)和戈登链球菌(黏膜伙伴)形成种间生物膜的能力。菌丝缺陷分离株缺乏与 S. gordonii 的共结合,但所有白色念珠菌分离株都能与 S. mutans 形成坚固的生物膜,而不论其丝状状态如何。此外,无论是哪种类型的白色念珠菌(菌丝缺陷或过度丝状)都能增强蔗糖代谢和生物膜产酸,导致环境 pH 值极酸(<5.5)。值得注意的是,白色念珠菌分离株显示与 pH 值、粘附和细胞壁组成相关的改变的转录组(与参考菌株相比),进一步支持生态位相关的特征。我们的数据表明,白色念珠菌在牙齿表面表现出独特的适应性机制,并与致病菌形成相互作用,同时创造产酸状态,而不论真菌形态如何,这与黏膜感染中的种间伙伴关系形成对比。人类牙齿可能为真菌定植/适应、种间生物膜和对疾病发病机制的贡献提供新的见解。 严重的幼儿早期龋齿是一个广泛存在的全球性公共卫生问题,导致广泛的牙齿腐烂和全身并发症。白色念珠菌是一种常见于黏膜表面的真菌,常在患病幼儿的牙菌斑中被检测到。然而,从牙齿中分离出的白色念珠菌的临床特征仍未得到充分探索。在这里,我们发现白色念珠菌牙分离株表现出独特的生物学和转录组特征。值得注意的是,与丝状状态无关,均可与变形链球菌形成种间生物膜。此外,牙分离株通常具有共同的致龋功能,包括产酸、蛋白水解活性和增强糖代谢,同时显示 pH 响应和粘附基因的表达增加。我们的研究结果表明,定植在人类牙齿上的白色念珠菌表现出独特的适应性机制,介导与矿化表面致病状态相关的种间相互作用,为疾病发病机制及其在昂贵的儿科疾病中的作用提供了新的见解。