Aize Pellón RodríguezCenter for Cooperative Research in Biosciences | CIC bioGUNE
Aize Pellón Rodríguez
PhD
Innate immunity / Fungal immunology / (Immuno)metabolism / Host-microbe interactions
About
44
Publications
27,247
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936
Citations
Introduction
I have always been interested in microbe-host interactions. During my PhD at the University of the Basque Country (Bilbao, Spain), I studied host immune responses to pathogenic fungi. Then, I moved to CIC bioGUNE (Bilbao, Spain) where I developed an interest in how our immune system, copes with the huge amount of commensal microorganisms inhabiting our body (i.e. microbiota).
In this context, Candida albicans is a very interesting microbe as it establishes both commensal and pathogenic relations with the host, depending on the mucosal environmental conditions, immune status, etc. My work at King’s College London in David Moyes Lab is focused on analysing epithelial cells’ immune responses to C. albicans, and the role of epithelial cells' interactions with immune cells.
Additional affiliations
February 2019 - present
September 2017 - January 2019
Position
- Researcher
Description
- Inflammation and Macrophage Plasticity Lab - Anguita Lab
April 2016 - September 2017
Education
February 2012 - February 2016
Field of study
- "Study of Lomentospora prolificans pathogenicity: host immune response and fungal virulence factors"
September 2011 - June 2012
September 2006 - June 2011
Publications
Publications (44)
Candida albicans is a fungal pathobiont colonizing mucosal surfaces of the human body, including the oral cavity. Under certain predisposing conditions, C. albicans invades mucosal tissues activating EGFR-MAPK signalling pathways in epithelial cells via the action of its peptide toxin candidalysin. However, our knowledge of the epithelial mechanism...
The initial exposure to pathogens and commensals confers innate immune cells the capacity to respond distinctively upon a second stimulus. This training capacity might play key functions in developing an adequate innate immune response to the continuous exposure to bacteria. However, the mechanisms involved in induction of trained immunity by comme...
The liver, and more specifically, the liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, constitute the beginning of one of the most important responses for the elimination of hematogenously disseminated Candida albicans. Therefore, we aimed to study the mechanisms involved in the interaction between these cells and C. albicans. Transcriptomics-based analysis sho...
Anti-TNF therapy can induce and maintain a remission status during intestinal bowel disease. However, up to 30% of patients do not respond to this therapy by mechanisms that are unknown. Here, we show that the absence of MCJ, a natural inhibitor of the respiratory chain Complex I, induces gut microbiota changes that are critical determinants of the...
Candida albicans is a fungal pathobiont colonising mucosal surfaces of the human body, including the oral cavity. Under certain predisposing conditions, C. albicans invades mucosal tissues activating EGFR-MAPK signalling pathways in epithelial cells via the action of its peptide toxin candidalysin. However, our knowledge of the epithelial mechanism...
Immunometabolic changes induced by the fungal pathobiont Candida albicans drive complex responses in innate immune cells. However, whether and how C. albicans causes remodelling of oral epithelial cell metabolism is unclear. Here, we use in vitro experiments and patient biopsies to demonstrate that oral epithelial cells (OECs) undergo a transient m...
Candida species are a dominant constituent of the human mycobiome and associated with the development of several diseases. Understanding the Candida species metabolism could provide key insights into their ability to cause pathogenesis. Here, we have developed the BioFung database, providing an efficient annotation of protein-encoding genes. Along,...
Microscopic fungi are widely present in the environment and, more importantly, are also an essential part of the human healthy mycobiota. However, many species can become pathogenic under certain circumstances, with Candida spp. being the most clinically relevant fungi. In recent years, the importance of metabolism and nutrient availability for fun...
Endothelial cells (EC) are heterogeneous across and within tissues, reflecting distinct, specialised functions. EC heterogeneity has been proposed to underpin EC plasticity independently from vessel microenvironments. However, heterogeneity driven by contact-dependent or short-range cell-cell crosstalk cannot be evaluated with single cell transcrip...
The activity of fumagillin, a mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus fumigatus, has not been studied in depth. In this study, we used a commercial fumagillin on cultures of two cell types (A549 pneumocytes and RAW 264.7 macrophages). This toxin joins its target, MetAP2 protein, inside cells and, as a result, significantly reduces the electron chain acti...
Candida species are a dominant constituent of the human mycobiome and a better understanding of their metabolism from a fungal perspective can provide key insights into their ability to cause pathogenesis. Here, we have developed the BioFung database a fungal specific tool for functional annotation using the KEGG database that provides an efficient...
Lyme carditis is an extracutaneous manifestation of Lyme disease characterized by episodes of atrioventricular block of varying degrees and additional, less reported cardiomyopathies. The molecular changes associated with the response to Borrelia burgdorferi over the course of infection are poorly understood. Here, we identify broad transcriptomic...
Gut microbiota is a constant source of antigens and stimuli to which the resident immune system has developed tolerance. However, the mechanisms by which mononuclear phagocytes, specifically monocytes/macrophages, cope with these usually pro-inflammatory signals are poorly understood. Here, we show that innate immune memory promotes anti-inflammato...
Colorectal cancer pathogenesis and progression is associated with the presence of Fusobacterium nucleatum and the reduction of acetylated derivatives of spermidine, as well as dietary components such as tannin‐rich foods. We show that a new tannase orthologue of F. nucleatum (TanBFnn) has significant structural differences with its Lactobacillus pl...
Candida albicans is a commensal yeast able to cause life threatening invasive infections particularly in immunocompromised patients. Despite the availability of antifungal treatments, mortality rates are still unacceptably high and drug resistance is increasing. We, therefore, generated the Ca37 monoclonal antibody against the C. albicans alcohol d...
The mucosal surfaces of the human body are challenged by millions of microbes on a daily basis. Co-evolution with these microbes has led to the development of plastic mechanisms in both host and microorganisms that regulate the balance between preserving beneficial microbes and clearing pathogens. Candida albicans is a fungal pathobiont present in...
Recent evidences indicate that mitochondrial genes and function are decreased in active ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, in particular, the activity of Complex I of the electron transport chain is heavily compromised. MCJ is a mitochondrial inner membrane protein identified as a natural inhibitor of respiratory chain Complex I. The induction of ex...
The high mortality rates of Lomentospora prolificans infections are due, above all, to the tendency of the fungus to infect weakened hosts, late diagnosis and a lack of effective therapeutic treatments. To identify proteins of significance for diagnosis, therapy or prophylaxis, immunoproteomics-based studies are especially important. Consequently,...
Macrophages mediate the elimination of pathogens by phagocytosis resulting in the activation of specific signaling pathways that lead to the production of cytokines, chemokines and other factors. Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, causes a wide variety of pro-inflammatory symptoms. The proinflammatory capacity of macrophages...
Macrophages are cells of the innate immune system with the ability to phagocytose and induce a global pattern of responses that depend on several signaling pathways. We have determined the biosignature of murine bone marrow-derived macrophages and human blood monocytes using transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. We identified a common pattern of...
Ikerketa askok mikroorganismo eta minbizien arteko erlazioak aztertu dituzte, mikroorganismo batzuk minbiziaren agerpena saihesten dutela eta beste batzuk, aldiz, minbizia eragin dezaketela demostratuz. Hain zuzen ere, gero eta artikulu zientifiko gehiago argitaratzen ari dira mikroorganismoak minbiziaren sortzearekin, ezarpenarekin eta sakabanaket...
Lomentospora (Scedosporium) prolificans is an opportunistic pathogen capable of causing invasive infections in immunocompromised patients. The fungus is able to disseminate via the bloodstream finally arriving at the central nervous system (CNS) producing neurological symptoms and in many cases, patient death. In this context, microglial cells, whi...
Species of Scedosporium and Lomentospora are considered as emerging opportunists, affecting immunosuppressed and otherwise debilitated patients, although classically they are known from causing trauma-associated infections in healthy individuals. Clinical manifestations range from local infection to pulmonary colonization and severe invasive diseas...
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder that increases the risk of suffering microbial, including fungal, infections. In this paper, proteomics-based information was collated relating to secreted and cell wall proteins with potential medical applications from the most common filamentous fungi in CF, i.e., Aspergillus and Scedosporium/Lomentospor...
The number of fungal isolates resistant to antifungal drugs has increased dramatically over the last few years and has become an important concern for clinicians. Among these isolates, fungi showing multidrug resistance are especially worrying because of the difficulties associated with their treatment. These factors hamper the successful recovery...
The filamentous fungus Lomentospora (Scedosporium) prolificans is an emerging opportunistic pathogen associated with fatal infections in patients with disturbed immune function. Unfortunately, conventional therapies are hardly of any use against this fungus due to its intrinsic resistance. Therefore, we performed an integrated study of the L. proli...
Susceptibility of Lomentospora prolificans to cell membrane- and wall-disturbing agents.
Decimal dilutions of conidial suspensions were spotted onto potato dextrose agar plates containing 0, 100, 250, 500, 750 or 1000 μg/ml of SDS, calcofluor white (CFW) or congo red (CR).
(TIF)
Purpose:
The study of the immunocompetent airways immune response may provide important information to improve the therapeutic efficacy against Lomentospora (Scedosporium) prolificans. So, this study aimed to identify the most prevalent conidial antigens of this multiresistant fungus recognized by healthy human salivary IgA, and to study their exp...
The filamentous fungus Lomentospora prolificans is an emerging pathogen causing severe infections mainly among the immunocompromised population. These diseases course with high mortality rates due to great virulence of the fungus, its inherent resistance to available antifungals, and absence of specific diagnostic tools. Despite being widespread in...
Invasive aspergillosis is an opportunistic infection caused primarily by A. fumigatus. However, other common fungal pathogens belonging to section Fumigati are often misidentified as A. fumigatus. Thus, we have developed a multiplex real time PCR (qPCR) assay with primers and specific TaqMan probes based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions...
Abstract There is currently increasing concern about the relation between microbial infections and cancer. More and more studies support the view that there is an association, above all, when the causal agents are bacteria or viruses. This review adds to this, summarizing evidence that the opportunistic fungus Candida albicans increases the risk of...
Abstract As a result of fundamental changes in the
International Code of Nomenclature on the use of separate
names for sexual and asexual stages of fungi, generic names
of many groups should be reconsidered. Members of the
ECMM/ISHAM working group on Pseudallescheria/
Scedosporium infections herein advocate a novel nomenclature
for genera and speci...
The filamentous fungus Scedosporium prolificans is an emerging multidrug resistant pathogen related to serious infections mainly affecting immunocompromised individuals. Considering that it is frequently isolated from anthropic environments and penetrates mainly through the airways, the human mucosal immune system may play an important protective r...
Introduction: The emerging pathogen Scedosporium prolificans has been related to serious, often fatal, infections that cannot be successfully treated with antifungals due to the multiresistance of the fungus. In spite of that Scedosporium spp. are widely distributed in humanized media, scedosporiosis affects, above all, to immunocompromised individ...
The dimorphic fungus Candida albicans is able to trigger a cytokine-mediated pro-inflammatory response that increases tumor cell adhesion to hepatic endothelium and metastasis. To check the intraspecific differences in this effect, we used an in vitro murine model of hepatic response against C. albicans, which made clear that tumor cells adhered mo...
Introduction: The filamentous fungus Scedosporium prolificans is an
emerging pathogen associated to high mortality rates mostly due to its
inherent resistance to a wide variety of antifungals. This pathogen
displays two different morphologies: conidiospores, are used for
dispersion and colonization of other media; while hyphae, which come
from the...
Questions
Questions (11)
I am trying to produce hybridoma from immunised mice. We usually carry out the protocol directly from freshly-extracted spleens but, due to scheduling issues, we re thinking of freezing the spleens just after their extraction (-80ºC). I have read some papers describing this protocol, but they usually dissociate the spleen tissue and freeze the cell suspension instead of the whole organ.
Thus, my question is: will you freeze whole spleens or splenocyte suspension? Which is the best choice?
Thanks!!
Hello,
I was wondering if there exists some compound which specifically labels to b-glucans of fungi, as in the case of Concanavalin A for mannose residues. Do you have any ideas?
Thank you in advance!
Hello!! I've been doing some knockout strains in a filamentous fungus using resistance to hygromycin B as a selective marker. However, as the correct recombination is rare, we want to perform first a knockout for ku70 protein. So we need another selective marker. I have been told about phleomycin, but my strain has backgrown growth at any antibiotic concentration.
So, are there any other resistance genes that may be convenient for my purpose??
Thank you in advance
Hello,
I am trying to purify and concentrate a DNA cassette of about 3kb as I need a lot of quantity (3-5 microg). I am using the Macherey Nagel kit for amplicon purification from agarose gel. Here it comes the first problem, since I don't recover as much as would like to. I have tried warming elution buffer and columns during elution, prolonging elution time, etc. On the other hand, we decided to repeat several purifications (about 8), pool them and precipitated DNA using ethanol and NaAcetate. Surprisingly, we are not able to resuspend the pellet (there are little white things floating that don't get dissolved).
So, any of you have any ideas about: 1) improve my purification step to get better dna yields, 2) dissolve this very strange pellet??
Thank you in advance.
Hello everyone!
We are measuring the carbohydrate (monosaccharides) composition of the filamentous fungus Lomentospora prolificans cell wall grown under different conditions. We are using HPAEC-PAD to quantify glucose, mannose, glucosamine and rhamnose. The problem is that one peak in the chromatogram disappears under certain conditions, which make it interesting for us. However, we are not able to identify which sugar it is. We have analyzed: xylose, sucrose, fructose, trehalose and maltose, with no positive result.
Have any of you faced this problem before?
Thank you in advance
I am co-culturing a filamentous fungus with murine macrophages in 24-well plates and measuring several parameters. I am interested in quantifying macrophage killing capacity. I have tried this protocol: macrophage lysis by using RIPA buffer, dilute the supernatant, plate the suspension on agar plates and the count CFU. However, I have noted that the fungus is adhering to the plastic and I do not recover it properly and, consequently, I do not obtain reliable CFU data.
Have any of you experienced this problem? Or do you prefer another method/protocol (not very expensive, if possible?
