AUTHOR=Oh Soon-Hwan , Martin-Yken Hélène , Coleman David A. , Dague Etienne , Hoyer Lois L. 

TITLE=Development and Use of a Monoclonal Antibody Specific for the Candida albicans Cell-Surface Protein Hwp1

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.907453

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.907453

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>The <italic>Candida albicans</italic> cell-surface protein Hwp1 functions in adhesion to the host and in biofilm formation. A peptide from the Gln-Pro-rich adhesive domain of Hwp1 was used to raise monoclonal antibody (MAb) 2-E8. MAb 2-E8 specificity for Hwp1 was demonstrated using a <italic>hwp1/hwp1 C. albicans</italic> isolate and strains that expressed at least one <italic>HWP1</italic> allele. Immunofluorescence and atomic force microscopy experiments using MAb 2-E8 confirmed <italic>C. albicans</italic> germ-tube-specific detection of the Hwp1 protein. MAb 2-E8 also immunolabeled the tips of some <italic>Candida dubliniensis</italic> germ tubes grown under conditions that maximized <italic>HWP1</italic> expression. The phylogeny of <italic>HWP1</italic> and closely related genes suggested that the Gln-Pro-rich adhesive domain was unique to <italic>C. albicans</italic> and <italic>C. dubliniensis</italic> focusing the utility of MAb 2-E8 on these species. This new reagent can be used to address unanswered questions about Hwp1 and its interactions with other proteins in the context of <italic>C. albicans</italic> biology and pathogenesis.</p>