Cited by 54Fungal and yeast genetics researchMetal-Catalyzed Oxygenation MechanismsAntifungal resistance and susceptibility

Copper-only superoxide dismutase enzymes and iron starvation stress in Candida fungal pathogens

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Schatzman, Sabrina S., Peterson, Ryan L., Teka, Mieraf, He, Bixi, Cabelli, Diane E., Cormack, Brendan P., Culotta, Valeria C.·2020·Journal of Biological Chemistry

Abstract

Copper (Cu)-only superoxide dismutases (SOD) represent a newly characterized class of extracellular SODs important for virulence of several fungal pathogens. Previous studies of the Cu-only enzyme SOD5 from the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans have revealed that the active-site structure and Cu binding of SOD5 strongly deviate from those of Cu/Zn-SODs in its animal hosts, making Cu-only SODs a possible target for future antifungal drug design. C. albicans also expresses a Cu-only SOD4 that is highly similar in sequence to SOD5, but is poorly characterized. Here, we compared the biochemical, biophysical, and cell biological properties of C. albicans SOD4 and SOD5. Analyzing the recombinant proteins, we found that, similar to SOD5, Cu-only SOD4 can react with superoxide at rates approaching diffusion limits. Both SODs were monomeric and they exhibited similar binding affinities for their Cu cofactor. In C. albicans cultures, SOD4 and SOD5 were predominantly cell wall proteins. Despite these similarities, the SOD4 and SOD5 genes strongly differed in transcriptional regulation. SOD5 was predominantly induced during hyphal morphogenesis, together with a fungal burst in reactive oxygen species. Conversely, SOD4 expression was specifically up-regulated by iron (Fe) starvation and controlled by the Fe-responsive transcription factor SEF1. Interestingly, Candida tropicalis and the emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris contain a single SOD5-like SOD rather than a pair, and in both fungi, this SOD was induced by Fe starvation. This unexpected link between Fe homeostasis and extracellular Cu-SODs may help many fungi adapt to Fe-limited conditions of their hosts.

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Authors
Schatzman, S. S., Peterson, R. L., Teka, M., He, B., Cabelli, D. E., Cormack, B. P., & Culotta, V. C.
Affiliations
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
  • Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)
Corresponding author
Culotta, Valeria C.
Venue
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-01
Volume
295
Issue
2
Pages
570-583
ISSN
0021-9258 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2994516390
Cited by
54
References
86
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 3
FWCI
1.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • HHS | National Institutes of Health (RO1 AI119949, RO1 GM50016, R01 AI046223, T32 GM080189, F32 GM112320)
  • U.S. Department of Energy (DE-SC0012704)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Fungal and yeast genetics research
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Inorganic Chemistry › Metal-Catalyzed Oxygenation Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
Keywords
Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida auris, iron starvation, iron homeostasis, hyphal morphogenesis, reactive oxygen species, cell wall proteins, antifungal drug targets, fungal virulence
MeSH terms
Candida, Candida albicans, Candidiasis, Copper, Humans, Iron, Models, Molecular, Superoxide Dismutase, Reactive Oxygen Species, Candida tropicalis

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