Echinocandin Drugs Induce Differential Effects in Cytokinesis Progression and Cell Integrity

[EN]Fission yeast contains three essential β(1,3)-D-glucan synthases (GSs), Bgs1, Bgs3, and Bgs4, with non-overlapping roles in cell integrity and morphogenesis. Only the bgs4+ mutants pbr1-8 and pbr1-6 exhibit resistance to GS inhibitors, even in the presence of the wild-type (WT) sequences of bgs1...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Yagüe, Natalia, Gómez-Delgado, Laura, Curto, M. Ángeles, Carvalho, Vanessa da Silva Dutra de, Moreno, M. Belén, Pérez, Pilar, Ribas Elcorobarrutia, Juan Carlos, García Cortés, Juan Carlos
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
Repository:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
OAI Identifier:oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/166729
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10366/166729
https://doi.org/10.3390/ph14121332
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:fungi
invasive fungal infections
fission yeast
cell wall
β(1,3)-D-glucan synthase
antifungal drugs
echinocandin drugs
Fks resistance hot spots
Cytokinesis
Septation
Cell separation
Cell integrity
2414 Microbiología 2407 Biología Celular 2302.21 Biología Molecular 2302 Bioquímica
2414 Microbiología
2407 Biología Celular
2302.21 Biología Molecular
2302 Bioquímica
Description
Summary:[EN]Fission yeast contains three essential β(1,3)-D-glucan synthases (GSs), Bgs1, Bgs3, and Bgs4, with non-overlapping roles in cell integrity and morphogenesis. Only the bgs4+ mutants pbr1-8 and pbr1-6 exhibit resistance to GS inhibitors, even in the presence of the wild-type (WT) sequences of bgs1+ and bgs3+. Thus, Bgs1 and Bgs3 functions seem to be unaffected by those GS inhibitors. To learn more about echinocandins’ mechanism of action and resistance, cytokinesis progression and cell death were examined by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy in WT and pbr1-8 cells at the start of treatment with sublethal and lethal concentrations of anidulafungin, caspofungin, and micafungin. In WT, sublethal concentrations of the three drugs caused abundant cell death that was either suppressed (anidulafungin and micafungin) or greatly reduced (caspofungin) in pbr1-8 cells. Interestingly, the lethal concentrations induced differential phenotypes depending on the echinocandin used. Anidulafungin and caspofungin were mostly fungistatic, heavily impairing cytokinesis progression in both WT and pbr1-8. As with sublethal concentrations, lethal concentrations of micafungin were primarily fungicidal in WT cells, causing cell lysis without impairing cytokinesis. The lytic phenotype was suppressed again in pbr1-8 cells. Our results suggest that micafungin always exerts its fungicidal effect by solely inhibiting Bgs4. In contrast, lethal concentrations of anidulafungin and caspofungin cause an early cytokinesis arrest, probably by the combined inhibition of several GSs.