Transcriptional response of Candida albicans to oral epithelial cells

Candida albicans is exposed to a different host environment during oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) compared to hematogenously disseminated candidiasis. Thus, different virulence factors may be active during these two types of infection. However,little is known about the C. albicans genes that are required for the initiation and maintenance of OPC. To identify potential virulence factors relevant to this disease, we determined the transcriptional response of C. albicans to oral epithelial cells in vitro. Keywords: cell interaction Two different Candida albicans strains, CAI4-URA and a clinical isolate 7392, were used to identify the transcriptional response of C. albicans to oral epithelial cells. The strains were incubated with either the FaDu oral epithelial cell line 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 Fadu cells 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.