title: The Role of UPC2 Gene in Azole-Resistant Candida tropicalis.
abstract: Azole resistance of Candida tropicalis has, in recent years, become a serious issue in hospitals; however, there is limited knowledge of the mechanisms underlying this resistance. We have previously demonstrated that ERG11 plays a vital role in azole resistance in C. tropicalis. Here, we describe the expression and sequence variation of UPC2, which encodes a transcription factor of ERG11. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR showed that 31 azole-resistant C. tropicalis strains significantly overexpressed UPC2. Those isolates resistant to all three azole antifungals upregulated UPC2 expression to a greater degree than those resistant to only fluconazole or itraconazole. The UPC2 promoter contains mutations -118T-G and -155G-A in azole-resistant strains of C. tropicalis. Meanwhile, the mutation G392E was also detected twice in UPC2 gene in azole-resistant C. tropicalis and was demonstrated to mediate azole antifungal susceptibility by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an expression host, particularly for fluconazole and itraconazole.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Second Ruijin Road, Shanghai, 200025, China.
authors.forename: Cen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Second Ruijin Road, Shanghai, 200025, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Second Ruijin Road, Shanghai, 200025, China.
authors.forename: Danfeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Second Ruijin Road, Shanghai, 200025, China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Second Ruijin Road, Shanghai, 200025, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Second Ruijin Road, Shanghai, 200025, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Second Ruijin Road, Shanghai, 200025, China. pyb9861@sina.com.
authors.forename: Yibing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001393:Azoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D041022:Candida tropicalis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D017354:Point Mutation; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D001393:Azoles; D015534:Trans-Activators
keywords: Antifungal resistance; Azole; Candida tropicalis; UPC2