ArticlePLoS pathogens2021
A variant ECE1 allele contributes to reduced pathogenicity of Candida albicans during vulvovaginal candidiasis.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of Astaxanthin as an Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Agent in Human Health: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Phenotypic and genotypic analysis ofInfection and immunity · 2026Article
- An In Vitro A-431 Epithelial Cell Infection Model for Studying Fungal Pathogenicity and Immune Responses Associated With Vulvovaginal Candidiasis.Bio-protocol · 2026Article
- An IL-1, IL-17, and IL-22 cytokine circuit controls vulvovaginal candidiasis independently of estrogen.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Hemolytic Activity of VaginalPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Elevated vaginal heparan sulfate correlates with impaired neutrophil killing ofInfection and immunity · 2026Article
- Article
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- What is the impact of the virome and mycobiome on female reproductive tract health? A systematic scoping review.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Candidalysin at the epithelial-systemic interface: mechanistic evidence, critical-care relevance, and translational opportunities in invasive candidiasis.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- "Pour some sugar on me"-Environmental Candida albicans isolates and the evolution of increased pathogenicity and antifungal resistance through sugar adaptation.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Commensal colonization ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Host albumin redirects Candida albicans metabolism to engage an alternative pathogenicity pathway.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Review
- Strain background interacts with chromosome 7 aneuploidy to determine commensal and virulence phenotypes in Candida albicans.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Review
- Fungal determinants contributing to translocation ofmicroLife · 2025Article
- Mucosal immune response modulated by secreted and membrane-bound hydrolases ofFrontiers in fungal biology · 2025Review
- Glycogen synthase activity inmSphere · 2024Article
- Host-microbe interaction paradigms in acute and recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis.Cell host & microbe · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), caused primarily by the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans, results in significant quality-of-life issues for women worldwide. Candidalysin, a toxin derived from a polypeptide (Ece1p) encoded by the ECE1 gene, plays a crucial role in driving immunopathology at the vaginal mucosa. This study aimed to determine if expression and/or processing of Ece1p differs across C. albicans isolates and whether this partly underlies differential pathogenicity observed clinically. Using a targeted sequencing approach, we determined that isolate 529L harbors a similarly expressed, yet distinct Ece1p isoform variant that encodes for a predicted functional candidalysin; this isoform was conserved amongst a collection of clinical isolates. Expression of the ECE1 open reading frame (ORF) from 529L in an SC5314-derived ece1Δ/Δ strain resulted in significantly reduced vaginopathogenicity as compared to an isogenic control expressing a wild-type (WT) ECE1 allele. However, in vitro challenge of vaginal epithelial cells with synthetic candidalysin demonstrated similar toxigenic activity amongst SC5314 and 529L isoforms. Creation of an isogenic panel of chimeric strains harboring swapped Ece1p peptides or HiBiT tags revealed reduced secretion with the ORF from 529L that was associated with reduced virulence. A genetic survey of 78 clinical isolates demonstrated a conserved pattern between Ece1p P2 and P3 sequences, suggesting that substrate specificity around Kex2p-mediated KR cleavage sites involved in protein processing may contribute to differential pathogenicity amongst clinical isolates. Therefore, we present a new mechanism for attenuation of C. albicans virulence at the ECE1 locus.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.