Investigation of the involvement of the VPS51 protein in the late complex and its role in drug resistance in Candida tropicalis

• Grant number: 24/00892-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biology
• Principal Investigator: Sergio Schenkman
• Grantee: Verônica Aparecida de Lima
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/10599-3 - The Antimicrobial Resistance Institute of São Paulo (The Aries Project), AP.CEPID

Abstract

Candida-non-Candida albicans (CNCA) are responsible for 35 to 65% of Candida infections and could hypothetically have evolved as colonizers of specific hosts, becoming an infectious agent for humans and animals. Among them, C. tropicalis is present in the body under normal circumstances. Environmental, immunological and virulence factors can interact and contribute to the development of severe infections, such as bloodstream infections (BSI), and drug resistance. In C. tropicalis, resistance rates for fluconazole of 8 to 21.05 %, voriconazole of 8 to 15.75 % and echinocandins of 1.55 to 8 % have been documented. In S. cerevisiae, the Vps52/53/54 complex was shown to be required for retrograde transport from the late endosomal compartment to the Golgi; Vps51 was discovered as the fourth member of this complex. Some work with C. albicans shows that Vps51 is related to vacuolar morphology, is important for hyphal elongation, is also responsible for host cell damage and is involved in the resistance response to environmental, nutritional and stress conditions. hyperosmolarity. Our aim is to investigate the role of this protein in C. tropicalis and its involvement in virulence and resistance to antifungal drugs.