Different Stress-Induced Calcium Signatures Are Reported by Aequorin-Mediated Calcium Measurements in Living Cells of Aspergillus fumigatus

PLoS One. 2015 Sep 24;10(9):e0138008. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138008. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Aspergillus fumigatus is an inhaled fungal pathogen of human lungs, the developmental growth of which is reliant upon Ca2+-mediated signalling. Ca2+ signalling has regulatory significance in all eukaryotic cells but how A. fumigatus uses intracellular Ca2+ signals to respond to stresses imposed by the mammalian lung is poorly understood. In this work, A. fumigatus strains derived from the clinical isolate CEA10, and a non-homologous recombination mutant ΔakuBKU80, were engineered to express the bioluminescent Ca2+-reporter aequorin. An aequorin-mediated method for routine Ca2+ measurements during the early stages of colony initiation was successfully developed and dynamic changes in cytosolic free calcium ([Ca2+]c) in response to extracellular stimuli were measured. The response to extracellular challenges (hypo- and hyper-osmotic shock, mechanical perturbation, high extracellular Ca2+, oxidative stress or exposure to human serum) that the fungus might be exposed to during infection, were analysed in living conidial germlings. The 'signatures' of the transient [Ca2+]c responses to extracellular stimuli were found to be dose- and age-dependent. Moreover, Ca2+-signatures associated with each physico-chemical treatment were found to be unique, suggesting the involvement of heterogeneous combinations of Ca2+-signalling components in each stress response. Concordant with the involvement of Ca2+-calmodulin complexes in these Ca2+-mediated responses, the calmodulin inhibitor trifluoperazine (TFP) induced changes in the Ca2+-signatures to all the challenges. The Ca2+-chelator BAPTA potently inhibited the initial responses to most stressors in accordance with a critical role for extracellular Ca2+ in initiating the stress responses.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aequorin / genetics
  • Aequorin / metabolism*
  • Aspergillus fumigatus / physiology*
  • Biomass
  • Calcium / metabolism*
  • Chelating Agents / pharmacology
  • Egtazic Acid / analogs & derivatives
  • Egtazic Acid / pharmacology
  • Gene Expression
  • Intracellular Space / metabolism
  • Osmotic Pressure
  • Oxidative Stress
  • Phenotype
  • Stress, Mechanical
  • Stress, Physiological*

Substances

  • Chelating Agents
  • Aequorin
  • Egtazic Acid
  • 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid
  • Calcium