Vol.59 No.6 November 2011
Elucidation of the calcineurin signaling pathway in pathogenic fungi to develop a novel antifungal strategy
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan
Abstract
Invasive fungal infections which have developed in immunocompromised patients are often difficult to treat in part because physicians have very few therapeutic options and the current antifungal agents have some issues regarding adverse effects and a limited antifungal spectrum. Elucidation of stress response mechanisms and virulence factors in pathogenic fungi is required to develop an effective antifungal strategy, in addition to the identification of a fungal-specific molecule. It has been reported that the protein phosphatase calcineurin plays critical roles in various stress responses in several important fungal pathogens including Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus fumigatus. Inhibition of calcineurin signaling has attracted attention as a novel antifungal strategy that attenuates fungal virulence and increases the efficacy of the existing antifungals while concurrently suppressing the development of antifungal resistance. This article outlines the calcineurin-signaling cascade in pathogenic fungi especially focusing on our data in Candida glabrata.
Key word
Candida glabrata, calcineurin, Crz1, drug-resistance, virulence
Received
July 29, 2011
Accepted
August 2, 2011
Jpn. J. Chemother. 59 (6): 573-579, 2011
