title: Candida albicans is able to use M cells as a portal of entry across the intestinal barrier in vitro.
abstract: Candida albicans is the most frequent yeast responsible for systemic infections in humans. These infections mainly originate from the gastrointestinal tract where C. albicans can invade the gut epithelial barrier to gain access to the bloodstream. Along the gut, pathogens can use Microfold (M) cells as a portal of entry to cross the epithelial barrier. M cells are specialized cells mainly located in the follicule-associated epithelium of Peyer patches. In this study, we used scanning electron and fluorescence microscopy, adhesion and invasion assays and fungal mutants to investigate the interactions of C. albicans with M cells obtained in an established in vitro model whereby enterocyte-like Caco-2 cells co-cultured with the Raji B cell line undergo a phenotypic switch to morphologically and functionally resembling M cells. Our data demonstrate that C. albicans co-localizes with and invades preferentially M cells, providing evidence that the fungus can use M cells as a portal of entry into the intestinal barrier. In addition to active penetration, F-actin dependent endocytosis contributes to internalization of the fungus into M cells through a mechanism involving hypha-associated invasins including Ssa1 and Als3.
authors.affiliation: UMR 1347, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 17 Rue Sully, BP 86 510, F-21065, Dijon Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Albac
authors.affiliation: UMR 1347, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 17 Rue Sully, BP 86 510, F-21065, Dijon Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Antonin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.affiliation: UMR 1347, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 17 Rue Sully, BP 86 510, F-21065, Dijon Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lopez-Alayon
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Département Mycologie, Paris, France.|INRA, USC 2019, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: d'Enfert
authors.affiliation: UMR 1347, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 17 Rue Sully, BP 86 510, F-21065, Dijon Cedex, France.|Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Service de Parasitologie Mycologie, 2 Rue Angélique Ducoudray, F-21070, Dijon Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sautour
authors.affiliation: UMR 1347, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 17 Rue Sully, BP 86 510, F-21065, Dijon Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Amandine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ducreux
authors.affiliation: Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Institut de Mathématiques de Bourgogne, UFR Sciences et Techniques, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Labruère-Chazal
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch-Institute, Centre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Advanced Light and Electron Microscopy, Nordufer 20, 13353, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laue
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch-Institute, Centre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Advanced Light and Electron Microscopy, Nordufer 20, 13353, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.affiliation: UMR 1347, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 17 Rue Sully, BP 86 510, F-21065, Dijon Cedex, France.|Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Service de Parasitologie Mycologie, 2 Rue Angélique Ducoudray, F-21070, Dijon Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonnin
authors.affiliation: UMR 1347, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 17 Rue Sully, BP 86 510, F-21065, Dijon Cedex, France.|Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Service de Parasitologie Mycologie, 2 Rue Angélique Ducoudray, F-21070, Dijon Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dalle
mesh_terms: D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000502:physiology*; D058387:Candidemia / Q000382:microbiology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002460:Cell Line; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D004705:Endocytosis; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D010581:Peyer's Patches / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: adhesion; endocytosis; infection; invasion; mucosal immunity; transcytosis