Candida albicans cell wall mediated virulence

Fungal cells are covered in a polysaccharide-rich coat that protects them from the external environment, acts as a barrier and filter, and resists internal turgor pressure. The tensile strength provided by the mature cell wall is co-ordinated with zones of new polarised growth (germination, septal formation, hyphal tips and branches) where the wall must retain its integrity, as new cell wall material is inserted and assembled. Therefore, there is a careful balance between wall rigidification and wall re-moulding to enable morphogenesis and growth. In this chapter we will discover that the overall cell wall structure can adapt and respond to external and internal factors, and by remodelling the wall in response to such stimuli fungal cells minimise any loss of cellular integrity. In fungal pathogens the cell wall provides the interface with the host and so a number of cell wall associated components have been identified that play important roles in fungal-host interactions. Here we will describe cell wall components that play roles in virulence, either directly or by modulating the host’s immune responses using Candida albicans as a model fungal pathogen of humans. The main focus will be in recent advances of our understanding of the regulation and dissection of cell wall components using molecular approaches. Readers are also directed to other excellent C. albicans cell wall reviews and book chapters (Klis et al. 2001; Chauhan et al. 2002; Ruiz-Herrera et al. 2006; Sohn et al. 2006; Chaffin 2008).