Tolerance to Caspofungin in Candida albicans Is Associated with at Least Three Distinctive Mechanisms That Govern Expression of <i>FKS</i> Genes and Cell Wall Remodeling

Abstract

Expanding echinocandin use to prevent or treat invasive fungal infections has led to an increase in the number of breakthrough infections due to resistant <i>Candida</i> species. Although it is uncommon, echinocandin resistance is well documented for <i>Candida albicans</i>, which is among the most prevalent bloodstream organisms. A better understanding is needed to assess the cellular factors that promote tolerance and predispose infecting cells to clinical breakthrough. We previously showed that some mutants that were adapted to growth in the presence of toxic sorbose due to loss of one chromosome 5 (Ch5) also became more tolerant to caspofungin. We found here, following direct selection of mutants on caspofungin, that tolerance can be conferred by at least three mechanisms: (i) monosomy of Ch5, (ii) combined monosomy of the left arm and trisomy of the right arm of Ch5, and (iii) an aneuploidy-independent mechanism. Tolerant mutants possessed cell walls with elevated chitin and showed downregulation of genes involved in cell wall biosynthesis, namely, <i>FKS</i>, located outside Ch5, and <i>CHT2</i>, located on Ch5, irrespective of Ch5 ploidy. Also irrespective of Ch5 ploidy, the <i>CNB1</i> and <i>MID1</i> genes on Ch5, which are involved in the calcineurin signaling pathway, were expressed at the diploid level. Thus, multiple mechanisms can affect the relative expression of the aforementioned genes, controlling them in similar ways. Although breakthrough mutations in two specific regions of <i>FKS1</i> have previously been associated with caspofungin resistance, we found mechanisms of caspofungin tolerance that are independent of <i>FKS1</i> and thus represent an earlier event in resistance development.