Hypha essential genes in Candida albicans pathogenesis of oral lichen planus: an in-vitro study

Abstract

Abstract Background Hypha essential genes (HEGs) of Candida Albicans have been emerging into scholar’s attention, little known about their functions in oral lichen planus (OLP) with an uncovered etiology. This research aimed to observe necessary genes in biphasic C. albicans from OLP and study their relevance in pathogenesis, so as to evaluate possible roles of morphologic switching in etiology of OLP. Methods Samples were collected from OLP lesions of patients, mycelia were cultured and total RNA was extracted then subjected to reverse transcription-PCR and real-time PCR. Results HWP1 and HGC1 were significantly expressed in hyphae phase and weakly detected in yeast phase, while there was no significant difference of EFG1, ALS3, and ECE1 between in yeast and mycelia. Conclusion HGC1 and HWP1 were confirmed to be hypha essential genes, with HGC1 for hypha morphogenesis and HWP1 for adhesion invasion in pathogenesis of C. albicans in OLP. ALS3, ECE1 and EFG1 played minor roles in hyphae maintenance and adhesion for hyphae. These might be deemed as hints for the etiology of OLP and indicate HGC1 and HWP1 to be a priority of potential drug target.

Keywords

• Bimorphysim switch
• Candida albicans
• Hypha/mycelium essential genes
• Oral lichen planus
• Pathogenesis
• Etiology