The World Health Organization (WHO) declared certain fungal pathogens as global health threats for the next decade. Candida auris (C. auris) is a newly emerging skin-tropic multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen that can cause life-threatening infections of high mortality in hospitals and healthcare settings. Here, we address an unmet need and present novel native ex vivo skin models, thus extending previous C. auris-host interaction studies. We exploit histology and immunofluorescence analysis of ex vivo skin biopsies of human adult and fetal, as well as mouse origin infected with C. auris via distinct routes. We demonstrate that an intact skin barrier efficiently protects from C. auris penetration and invasion. Although C. auris readily grows on native human skin, it can reach deeper layers only upon physical disruption of the barrier by needling or through otherwise damaged skin. By contrast, a barrier disruption is not necessary for C. auris penetration of native mouse skin. Importantly, we show that C. auris undergoes morphogenetic changes upon skin penetration, as it acquires pseudohyphal growth phenotypes in deeper human and mouse dermal layers. Taken together, this new human and mouse skin model toolset yields new insights into C. auris colonization, adhesion, growth and invasion properties of native versus damaged human skin. The results form a crucial basis for future studies on skin immune defense to colonizing pathogens, and offer new options for testing the action and efficacy of topical antimicrobial compound formulations.

Candida auris

Human skin

Ex vivo

10.1016/j.micinf.2023.105234

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Citations (13)

Overexpression of IL-4 Alters the Homeostasis in the Skin

Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2002)

Adelheid Elbe‐Bürger Sabine Olt Georg Stingl Alena Egyed Radek Klubal

Epidermis (zoology)

Pathogenesis

Keratin 5

10.1046/j.1523-1747.2002.01753.x

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Citations (77)

Interoperability of RTN1A in dendrite dynamics and immune functions in human Langerhans cells

eLife (2022)

Małgorzata Anna Cichoń Karin Pfisterer Judith Leitner Lena Wagner Clement Staud

Skin is an active immune organ where professional antigen-presenting cells such as epidermal Langerhans cells (LCs) link innate and adaptive immune responses. While Reticulon 1A (RTN1A) was recently identified in LCs and dendritic cells in cutaneous and lymphoid tissues of humans and mice, its function is still unclear. Here, we studied the involvement of this protein in cytoskeletal remodeling and immune responses toward pathogens by stimulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in resident LCs (rLCs) and emigrated LCs (eLCs) in human epidermis ex vivo and in a transgenic THP-1 RTN1A + cell line. Hampering RTN1A functionality through an inhibitory antibody induced significant dendrite retraction of rLCs and inhibited their emigration. Similarly, expression of RTN1A in THP-1 cells significantly altered their morphology, enhanced aggregation potential, and inhibited the Ca 2+ flux. Differentiated THP-1 RTN1A + macrophages exhibited long cell protrusions and a larger cell body size in comparison to wild-type cells. Further, stimulation of epidermal sheets with bacterial lipoproteins (TLR1/2 and TLR2 agonists) and single-stranded RNA (TLR7 agonist) resulted in the formation of substantial clusters of rLCs and a significant decrease of RTN1A expression in eLCs. Together, our data indicate involvement of RTN1A in dendrite dynamics and structural plasticity of primary LCs. Moreover, we discovered a relation between activation of TLRs, clustering of LCs, and downregulation of RTN1A within the epidermis, thus indicating an important role of RTN1A in LC residency and maintaining tissue homeostasis.

Epidermis (zoology)

10.7554/elife.80578

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Citations (1)

Human embryonic epidermis contains a diverse Langerhans cell precursor pool

Development (2014)

Christopher Schuster Michael Mildner Mario Mairhofer Wolfgang Bauer Christian Fiala

Despite intense efforts, the exact phenotype of the epidermal Langerhans cell (LC) precursors during human ontogeny has not been determined yet. These elusive precursors are believed to migrate into the embryonic skin and to express primitive surface markers, including CD36, but not typical LC markers such as CD1a, CD1c and CD207. The aim of this study was to further characterize the phenotype of LC precursors in human embryonic epidermis and to compare it with that of LCs in healthy adult skin. We found that epidermal leukocytes in first trimester human skin are negative for CD34 and heterogeneous with regard to the expression of CD1c, CD14 and CD36, thus contrasting the phenotypic uniformity of epidermal LCs in adult skin. These data indicate that LC precursors colonize the developing epidermis in an undifferentiated state, where they acquire the definitive LC marker profile with time. Using a human three-dimensional full-thickness skin model to mimic in vivo LC development, we found that FACS-sorted, CD207- cord blood-derived haematopoietic precursor cells resembling foetal LC precursors but not CD14+CD16- blood monocytes integrate into skin equivalents, and without additional exogenous cytokines give rise to cells that morphologically and phenotypically resemble LCs. Overall, it appears that CD14- haematopoietic precursors possess a much higher differentiation potential than CD14+ precursor cells.

Epidermis (zoology)

Skin equivalent

Cord blood

Human skin

Precursor cell

10.1242/dev.102699

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Citations (28)