mitochondria
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTREM-1 Protects HIV-1-Infected Macrophages from Apoptosis through Maintenance of Mitochondrial Function
The major challenge to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment is the development of strategies that lead to viral eradication. A roadblock to accomplishing this goal is the lack of an approach that would safely eliminate HIV from all resting/latent reservoirs, including macrophages. Macrophages are a key part of the innate immune system and are responsible for recognizing invading microbes and sending appropriate signals to other...
- Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyNew Mitochondrial Targets in Fungal Pathogens
In eukaryotic cells, mitochondria are responsible for the synthesis of ATP using power generated by the electron transport chain (ETC). While much of what is known about mitochondria has been gained from a study of a small number of model species, including the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the general mechanisms of mitochondrial respiration have been recognized as...
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMicrosporidia Interact with Host Cell Mitochondria via Voltage-Dependent Anion Channels Using Sporoplasm Surface Protein 1
Microsporidia are important opportunistic human pathogens in immune-suppressed individuals, such as those with HIV/AIDS and recipients of organ transplants. The sporoplasm is critical for establishing microsporidian infection. Despite the biological importance of this structure for transmission, there is limited information about its structure and composition that could be targeted for therapeutic intervention. Here, we identified a...
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyUnique, Diverged, and Conserved Mitochondrial Functions Influencing Candida albicans Respiration
Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen of major clinical concern. The virulence of this pathogen is intimately intertwined with its metabolic behavior, and mitochondria have a central role in that metabolism. Mitochondria have undergone many evolutionary changes, which include lineage-specific adaptations in association with their eukaryotic host. Seven...
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMICU1 and MICU2 Play an Essential Role in Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uptake, Growth, and Infectivity of the Human Pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi
Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiologic agent of Chagas disease and belongs to the early-branching eukaryotic supergroup Excavata. Its mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) subunit shares similarity with the animal ortholog that was important to discover its encoding gene. In animal cells, the MICU1 and MICU2 proteins act as Ca2+ sensors and gatekeepers of the...
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyCdk8 and Ssn801 Regulate Oxidative Stress Resistance and Virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans
Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungal pathogen that primarily affects severely immunocompromised patients, resulting in 200,000 deaths every year. This yeast occurs in the environment and can establish disease upon inhalation into the lungs of a mammalian host. In this harsh environment it must survive engulfment by host phagocytes, including the oxidative stresses it...
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyInhibition of Classical and Alternative Modes of Respiration in Candida albicans Leads to Cell Wall Remodeling and Increased Macrophage Recognition
Current approaches to tackling fungal infections are limited, and new targets must be identified to protect against the emergence of resistant strains. We investigated the potential of targeting mitochondria, which are organelles required for energy production, growth, and virulence, in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Our findings suggest that mitochondria...
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMaintenance of Mitochondrial Morphology in Cryptococcus neoformans Is Critical for Stress Resistance and Virulence
C. neoformans is a yeast that causes fatal brain infection in close to 200,000 people worldwide every year, mainly afflicting individuals with AIDS or others who are severely immunocompromised. One feature of this microbe that helps it cause disease is that it is able to withstand toxic molecules it encounters when host cells engulf it in their efforts to control the...
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uniporter Complex (MCUC) of Trypanosoma brucei Is a Hetero-oligomer That Contains Novel Subunits Essential for Ca2+ Uptake
Trypanosoma brucei causes human African trypanosomiasis and nagana in animals. The finding of a mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) conserved in this parasite was essential for the discovery of the gene encoding the pore subunit. Mitochondrial Ca2+ transport mediated by the MUC complex is critical in...
- Research ArticleCryptococcus neoformans Iron-Sulfur Protein Biogenesis Machinery Is a Novel Layer of Protection against Cu Stress
C. neoformans is an opportunistic pathogen that causes lethal meningitis in over 650,000 people annually. The severity of C. neoformans infections is further compounded by the use of toxic or poorly effective systemic antifungal agents as well as by the difficulty of diagnosis. Cu is a natural potent antimicrobial agent that is compartmentalized within the macrophage phagosome and used by innate immune cells to...