Candida albicans evades NK cell elimination via binding of Agglutinin-Like Sequence proteins to the checkpoint receptor TIGIT

Yoav Charpak-Amikam, Tom Lapidus, Batya Isaacson, Alexandra Duev-Cohen, Tal Levinson, Adi Elbaz, Francesca Levi-Schaffer, Nir Osherov, Gilad Bachrach, Lois L. Hoyer, Maya Korem, Ronen Ben-Ami and Ofer Mandelboim ()
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Yoav Charpak-Amikam: Hebrew University Medical School, IMRIC
Tom Lapidus: Hebrew University Medical School, IMRIC
Batya Isaacson: Hebrew University Medical School, IMRIC
Alexandra Duev-Cohen: Hebrew University Medical School, IMRIC
Tal Levinson: Tel Aviv University
Adi Elbaz: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Francesca Levi-Schaffer: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Nir Osherov: Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv
Gilad Bachrach: The Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine
Lois L. Hoyer: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Maya Korem: Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center
Ronen Ben-Ami: Tel Aviv University
Ofer Mandelboim: Hebrew University Medical School, IMRIC

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Candida albicans is the most common fungal pathogen and a prevalent cause of deadly bloodstream infections. Better understanding of the immune response against it, and the ways by which it evades immunity, are crucial for developing new therapeutics against it. Natural Killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes best known for their role against viruses and tumors. In recent years it became clear that NK cells also play an important role in anti-fungal immunity. Here we show that while NK cells recognize and eliminate C. albicans, the fungal cells inhibit NK cells by manipulating the immune checkpoint receptor TIGIT (T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains) in both humans and mice. We identify the responsible fungal ligands as members of the Als (Agglutinin-Like Sequences) protein family. Furthermore, we show that blocking this interaction using immunotherapy with a TIGIT-blocking antibody can re-establish anti-Candida immunity and serve as a potential therapeutic tool.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30087-z

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