Diana Tamayo, Ana Elizabete Silva, Natália M. Barbosa, Cleverton Roberto de Andrade, Caroline Maria Marcos, Liliana Scorzoni, Junya de Lacorte Singulani, Orville Hernandez-Ruiz, Julhiany de Fátima da Silva, Ana Marisa Fusco-Almeida, Maria José Soares Mendes-Giannini, Patricia Akemi Assato, Rodrigo de Almeida, Gabrielle Tamer, Claudia Tavares dos Santos, Rosangela Aparecida Moraes da Silva, Juan G. McEwen, Angela Maria Lopez, Haroldo Cesar de Oliveira, Cleslei Fernando Zanelli, Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Corporación para Investigaciones Biológicas (CIB), Universidad de Antioquia, and Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz)
Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-12T01:46:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2019-12-01 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) The genus Paracoccidioides consist of dimorphic fungi geographically limited to the subtropical regions of Latin America, which are responsible for causing deep systemic mycosis in humans. However, the molecular mechanisms by which Paracoccidioides spp. causes the disease remain poorly understood. Paracoccidioides spp. harbor genes that encode proteins involved in host cell interaction and mitochondrial function, which together are required for pathogenicity and mediate virulence. Previously, we identified TufM (previously known as EF-Tu) in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (PbTufM) and suggested that it may be involved in the pathogenicity of this fungus. In this study, we examined the effects of downregulating PbTUFM using a silenced strain with a 55% reduction in PbTUFM expression obtained by antisense-RNA (aRNA) technology. Silencing PbTUFM yielded phenotypic differences, such as altered translation elongation, respiratory defects, increased sensitivity of yeast cells to reactive oxygen stress, survival after macrophage phagocytosis, and reduced interaction with pneumocytes. These results were associated with reduced virulence in Galleria mellonella and murine infection models, emphasizing the importance of PbTufM in the full virulence of P. brasiliensis and its potential as a target for antifungal agents against paracoccidioidomycosis. Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista Campus Araraquara Departamento de Análises Clínicas Laboratório de Micologia Clinica Faculdade de Odontologia UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista Campus Araraquara Departamento de Fisiologia e Patologia Unidad de Biología Celular y Molecular Corporación para Investigaciones Biológicas (CIB) Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista Campus Araraquara Departamento de Ciências Biológicas Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Celular de Microrganismos Grupo de Investigación MICROBA -Escuela de Microbiología Universidad de Antioquia Facultad de Medicina Universidad de Antioquia Instituto Carlos Chagas Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) Institute of Science and Technology São Paulo State University (UNESP) Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista Campus Araraquara Departamento de Análises Clínicas Laboratório de Micologia Clinica Faculdade de Odontologia UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista Campus Araraquara Departamento de Fisiologia e Patologia Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista Campus Araraquara Departamento de Ciências Biológicas Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Celular de Microrganismos Institute of Science and Technology São Paulo State University (UNESP)