Transcriptional response of Candida albicans to endothelial cells

Candida albicans is exposed to a different host environment during different site of infection. Thus, different virulence factors may be active during differenttypes of infection. However,little is known about the C. albicans genes that are required for the initiation and maintenance of candidiasis. To identify potential virulence factors relevant to hematogenously disseminated candidiasis, we determined the transcriptional response of C. albicans to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. Keywords: cell interaction Two different Candida albicans strains, CAI4-URA and a clinical isolate 36082, were used to identify the transcriptional response of C. albicans to HUVECs. The strains were incubated with either the HUVECs or bare plastic for 45, 90, and 180 min. C. albicans RNA was extracted and the transcriptional profile of these organisms was analyzed using the C. albicans oligonucleotide microarray. The transcriptional response to HUVECs was compared to that to bare plastic as a control condition. Each time point contains six biological replicates, three of which are from each C. albicans strain.