ANTI-CANDIDA POTENTIAL OF A SUNFLOWER MANNOSE-BINDING LECTIN: INHIBITION OF CELL ADHESION AND BIOFILM FORMATION.

DE LA CANAL, LAURA; REGENTE, MARIANA; DEL RIO, MARIANELA; MORA MONTES HÉCTOR; PINEDO, MARCELA

Ciudad de México

Congreso; 4th Latin American Congress of Glycobiology; 2017

The Latin American Society of Glycobiology and the Cell Dynamics Research Center of the Morelos State Autonomous University

Candida albicans (Ca) is an opportunistic fungal pathogen of humans causing superficial mucosal infections and life-threatening systemic disease. The fungal cell wall displays significant roles in host-pathogen interaction, thus the outer layer has mannoproteins that are essential for cell adhesion, virulence and biofilm formation. Biofilms are defined as the dense network of yeasts, hyphae and pseudohyphae soaked by a polymeric extracellular matrix, in which all classes of macromolecules are represented. The cells in a biofilm community exhibit high resistance to antifungal and to the host defense mechanisms. We have isolated a sunflower mannose-binding lectin (Helja), which shows affinity for high-mannose oligosaccharides and inhibitory activity on Candida. The aim of this work was to assess the effect of Helja on the Ca adhesion to buccal epithelial cells (BEC) and biofilm development. Helja (50 μg/ml) reduced the adhesion of Ca to BEC by 68% compared to the control condition in the absence of the lectin. Using Helja-FITC and confocal microscopy, the direct interaction of Helja with the yeast cell surface was demonstrated, providing a possible explanation to the effect of the lectin on cell adhesion. Surprisingly, Helja showed the ability to inhibit the biofilm formation, since its biomass decreased when the lectin was added in the intermediate stage of development, in which the cells are adhered to the support and actively secrete the components of the matrix. These findings place Helja as an integral therapeutic candidate in the treatment of diseases caused by Candida.