RESUMO
Candida albicans is one of the most prevalent and clinically important fungal pathogens. The ability to change form depending on environmental stress is an important microbial virulence factor. A survey of compounds that inhibit this morphological change identified various steroids, including 17ß-estradiol. Interestingly, C. albicans has proteins capable of binding to steroids, including estrogen binding protein (Ebp1). Estrogens regulate cell differentiation and proliferation in humans through estrogen receptor proteins. To determine whether EBP1 regulates a virulence factor, we investigated the effect of 17ß-estradiol on the morphological transition of C. albicans using an ebp1 deletion mutant. Treatment with 10 µg/mL of 17ß-estradiol inhibited hypha formation, whereas its effect on the ebp1 deletion mutant was decreased compared to that on the wild-type and revertant strains. These data suggest a new pathway for the yeast-to-hypha transition via EBP1 in C. albicans.