CRISPR-Cas9 approach confirms Calcineurin-responsive zinc finger 1 (Crz1) transcription factor as a promising therapeutic target in echinocandin-resistant Candida glabrata

PLoS One. 2022 Mar 18;17(3):e0265777. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265777. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Invasive fungal infections, which kill more than 1.6 million patients each year worldwide, are difficult to treat due to the limited number of antifungal drugs (azoles, echinocandins, and polyenes) and the emergence of antifungal resistance. The transcription factor Crz1, a key regulator of cellular stress responses and virulence, is an attractive therapeutic target because this protein is absent in human cells. Here, we used a CRISPR-Cas9 approach to generate isogenic crz1Δ strains in two clinical isolates of caspofungin-resistant C. glabrata to analyze the role of this transcription factor in susceptibility to echinocandins, stress tolerance, biofilm formation, and pathogenicity in both non-vertebrate (Galleria mellonella) and vertebrate (mice) models of candidiasis. In these clinical isolates, CRZ1 disruption restores the susceptibility to echinocandins in both in vitro and in vivo models, and affects their oxidative stress response, biofilm formation, cell size, and pathogenicity. These results strongly suggest that Crz1 inhibitors may play an important role in the development of novel therapeutic agents against fungal infections considering the emergence of antifungal resistance and the low number of available antifungal drugs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antifungal Agents / pharmacology
  • Antifungal Agents / therapeutic use
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems / genetics
  • Calcineurin / metabolism
  • Candida glabrata* / genetics
  • Candida glabrata* / metabolism
  • Drug Resistance, Fungal / genetics
  • Echinocandins* / pharmacology
  • Echinocandins* / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Zinc / metabolism
  • Zinc Fingers

Substances

  • Antifungal Agents
  • Echinocandins
  • Transcription Factors
  • Calcineurin
  • Zinc

Grants and funding

This study was financially supported by ECOS Nord C17S01, Campus France Eiffel excellence scholarship program 2020, Colombian Science Technology and Innovation Department (Minciencias) call 757 and research vice rectory of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia ID20291. Work in JP’s laboratory is funded by Grant PGC2018-095047-B-I00 from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and InGEMICS (B2017/BMD-3691) from Comunidad de Madrid CAM to JP.