Insights and Perspectives on the Role of Proteostasis and Heat Shock Proteins in Fungal Infections

Fungi are a diverse group of eukaryotic organisms that infect humans, animals, and plants. To successfully colonize their hosts, pathogenic fungi must continuously adapt to the host’s unique environment, e.g., changes in temperature, pH, and nutrient availability. Appropriate protein folding, assemb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microorganisms (Basel) 2023-07, Vol.11 (8), p.1878
Main Authors: Neves-da-Rocha, João, Santos-Saboya, Maria J., Lopes, Marcos E. R., Rossi, Antonio, Martinez-Rossi, Nilce M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
antifungal therapy
Antigens
Autophagy
Causes of
Cellular communication
Circuits
Defense mechanisms
Degradation
Development and progression
Endoplasmic reticulum
Enzymes
Fungal infections
Fungi
Fungicides
Health aspects
Heat shock proteins
Homeostasis
Host-pathogen interactions
Immune system
Mycoses
Nutrient availability
Oxidation
Oxidative stress
Pathogenesis
pathogenic fungi
Pathogenicity
Pathogens
Protein folding
proteostasis
Review
stress-response
Transcription factors
Virulence
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Summary:Fungi are a diverse group of eukaryotic organisms that infect humans, animals, and plants. To successfully colonize their hosts, pathogenic fungi must continuously adapt to the host’s unique environment, e.g., changes in temperature, pH, and nutrient availability. Appropriate protein folding, assembly, and degradation are essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis and survival under stressful conditions. Therefore, the regulation of proteostasis is crucial for fungal pathogenesis. The heat shock response (HSR) is one of the most important cellular mechanisms for maintaining proteostasis. It is activated by various stresses and regulates the activity of heat shock proteins (HSPs). As molecular chaperones, HSPs participate in the proteostatic network to control cellular protein levels by affecting their conformation, location, and degradation. In recent years, a growing body of evidence has highlighted the crucial yet understudied role of stress response circuits in fungal infections. This review explores the role of protein homeostasis and HSPs in fungal pathogenicity, including their contributions to virulence and host–pathogen interactions, as well as the concerted effects between HSPs and the main proteostasis circuits in the cell. Furthermore, we discuss perspectives in the field and the potential for targeting the components of these circuits to develop novel antifungal therapies.
ISSN:2076-2607
2076-2607
DOI:10.3390/microorganisms11081878