title: PEPped up: induction of Candida albicans virulence by bacterial cell wall fragments.
abstract: In this issue, Xu et al. (2008) report that Candida albicans, a prevalent fungal pathogen, expresses virulence-related attributes in response to bacterial peptidoglycan components, muramyl dipeptides, in human serum. Conserved elements in human and fungal detection of muramyl dipeptides highlight a common ability to perceive proximal bacterial populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Piispanen
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hogan
mesh_terms: D000119:Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000378:metabolism*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D010457:Peptidoglycan; D000119:Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine