Farnesol signalling in Candida albicans – more than just communication

Abstract

Candida albicans is a successful colonizer of the human host, which can, under certain circumstances cause a range of clinically diverse infections. Important virulence-associated traits of the fungus, such as the dimorphic switch and biofilm formation, are controlled by the quorum sensing molecule farnesol. Given the potential of farnesol as a novel antifungal drug, there has been increasing research into the mechanism underlying farnesol sensing and action in C. albicans. However, despite the identification of various factors involved in farnesol signalling, its exact mode of action remains largely unclear. This review provides an overview of the currently known aspects of farnesol production, sensing and action within C. albicans. We also illustrate the characteristic of C. albicans to simultaneously produce and tolerate high farnesol concentrations that are lethal to other microbes. Furthermore, we summarize new literature on the role of farnesol in the interaction of C. albicans with the human host and highlight its action as a potent immunomodulatory molecule.

Keywords:

• Candida albicans
• quorum sensing
• farnesol
• cell death
• host interaction

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Amelia Barber for critical reading of the manuscript and helpful suggestions.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

The work of MP and IDJ was financially supported by the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes e.V. (to MP) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG JA1960/1-1 to IDJ). Work in the labs of IDJ and OK was supported by the Federal Ministry for Education and Science (BMBF), Germany, within the Center for Sepsis Control and Care (FKZ: 01EO1002) and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within the Collaborative Research Center CRC124 FungiNet (project C3 to OK and C5 to IDJ).