Detection and expression of corticosteroid binding protein gene in human pathogenic fungi

Participation of steroid hormones in the growth of several fungal species h as been widely reported. The aim of the present study was to detect the pre sence and expression of the corticosteroid binding protein (CBP) gene in di fferent pathogenic fungal isolates from human clinical specimens. Genomic D NA and total RNA were obtained from six different pathogenic fungal species and submitted to Southern blot and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction respectively. The results indicated that all the fungi studied pre sented and expressed CBP gene. The sequence of a PCR product of CBP gene fr agment corresponding to the carboxyl terminal region in Trichophyton mentag rophytes, which presented the highest CBP expression, showed an identity of 98% as compared to the previously reported gene sequence from Candida albi cans. The overall results indicate that CBP is a highly conserved gene in f ungi and suggest that steroid hormones should play an important physiologic al role in these eukaryotic organisms.