Molecular landscape of the fungal plasma membrane and implications for antifungal action
Fungal plasma membrane proteins represent key therapeutic targets for antifungal agents, yet their native structure and spatial distribution remain poorly characterized. Herein, we employ an integrative approach to investigate the organization of plasma membrane protein complexes in Candida glabrata, focusing on two abundant and essential membrane proteins, the β-(1,3)-glucan synthase (GS) and the proton pump Pma1. We show that treatment with caspofungin, an echinocandin antifungal that targets GS, disrupts the native distribution of membrane protein complexes and alters membrane biophysical properties. Perturbation of the sphingolipid biosynthesis further modulates drug susceptibility, revealing that the lipid environment plays an integral role in membrane protein organization and GS-echinocandin interactions. Our work highlights the importance of characterizing membrane proteins in their native context to understand their functions and inform the development of novel antifungal therapies.
Authors
- Min Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0881-5891)
- Caifeng Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9957-1406)
- Huan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7549-5026)
- David S. Perlin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1268-5524)
- Gigi Lin
- Jeff Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2846-3205)
- Mikhail V. Keniya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5193-6982)
- Xueying Zhan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8252-0178)
- Jennifer Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6302-5916)
- Haiyan Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1955-1817)
- Erika Shor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3655-0963)
- Yasmine Hassoun
- Sang-Hyuk Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9036-7292)
- Zheng Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5214-1871)
- Yun-Kyung Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1876-4987)
- Wei Dai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3032-3399)
- Anusha Puri
- Chang Pang
- Nora Jaber
Institutions
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- City University of New York (US)
- Hunter College (US)
- Center for Discovery (US)
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-10-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64171-x
- Primary Topic
- Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00