title: The Role of Autophagy-Related Proteins in Candida albicans Infections.
abstract: Autophagy plays an important role in maintaining cell homeostasis by providing nutrients during periods of starvation and removing damaged organelles from the cytoplasm. A marker in the autophagic process is the reversible conjugation of LC3, a membrane scaffolding protein, to double membrane autophagosomes. Recently, a role for LC3 in the elimination of pathogenic bacteria and fungi, including Candida albicans (C. albicans), was demonstrated, but these organisms reside in single membrane phagosomes. This process is distinct from autophagy and is termed LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP). This review will detail the hallmarks of LAP that distinguish it from classical autophagy and review the role of autophagy proteins in host response to C. albicans and other pathogenic fungi.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. jmtam@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Jenny M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. mkmansour@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mansour
authors.affiliation: Immunology Program, Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA. macharya@benaroyaresearch.org.
authors.forename: Mridu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Acharya
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. anyasokol@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sokolovska
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. atimmons1@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Allison K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Timmons
authors.affiliation: Immunology Program, Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA. adamlh@benaroyaresearch.org.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lacy-Hulbert
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. jvyas@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Jatin M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vyas
keywords: Aspergillus fumigatus; Candida albicans; Dectin-1; LC3; LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP); autophagy; innate immunity