The pattern of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus biofilms on oral cancer cell signaling

• Grant number: 22/14555-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy
• Principal Investigator: Paula Aboud Barbugli
• Grantee: Paula Aboud Barbugli
• Host Investigator: Brian M. Peters
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FOAr). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), United States

Abstract

In the oral cavity, the resident microbiota prevents pathogenic microbes from establishing, acting as a microbial antagonism. Disruption of the oral microbiome has been proven to influence the course of oral diseases. In the oral cavity, polymicrobial biofilms are formed by a wide variety of species, including bacteria and fungi, i.e., Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. C. albicans, is one of the most common opportunistic pathogens, able to produce biofilms and secondary metabolites as virulence factors. Clinically, in the oral cavity, C. albicans biofilms are associated with oral candidiasis and leukoplakia. Staphylococcus aureus is also an abundant Gram-positive bacterium which has a strong connection to dental implant infections. In such cases, the pathophysiological association of C. albicans and S. aureus are closely related to biofilms in the host environment. This visiting project aims to evaluate the interaction of these biofilms, regarding dysplastic and neoplastic oral cells, mainly the activation of Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-8 and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signaling pathways by transcriptomic analysis. This partnership includes the study of mutant strains of C. albicans (ece1”/” and als3”/”) and S. aureus (agrA ”/”), from Prof. Brian Peters of University of Tennessee HSC, to delineate fungal factors that drive tumorigenesis during co-infection. (AU)