Signal transduction pathways and cell-wall construction in Candida albicans

Abstract

Signal transduction pathways are the molecular mechanisms responsible for detecting and transmitting changes in the surrounding environment to the nucleus where appropriate responses are generated. The cell wall is the most external structure of the fungal cell and, in pathogenic fungi, is responsible for specifically interacting with the mammalian host cell in a highly dynamic interplay. Recent work has shown the role that some signal transduction pathways, involving members of the MAP kinase family, have in this process in the nonpathogenic model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, as yet little is known about these phenomena in pathogenic fungi. The aim of this review is to characterize the existing signal transduction pathways in Candida albicans and their relationship with the cell-wall construction.