Fig. 6

Calcium is required for candidalysin-triggered immune responses and lies upstream of EGFR. Pre-treatment of TR146 cells with a calcium chelator (Bapta-AM 30 µM) reduced levels of pEGFR Y1068 and Y845, c-Fos, pMKP1 (a), IL-1α (b), IL-1β (c), G-CSF (f), EREG (g) and EPG (h), following candidalysin exposure. This is not observed when using the potassium inhibitor glibenclamide (30 µM). IL-6 (d) and GM-CSF (e) are not significantly suppressed by either inhibitor, though a reduction is observed. Protein lysates were taken at 2 h post infection for western blot analysis, cytokines assessed at 24 h post infection via luminex. Unmatched, one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni multiple comparison’s test was used to assess statistical significance. Images and graphs are representative of 2 (a, g, h) or 3 (b–f) independent experiments, respectively. Error bars represent SD. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, n.s. p > 0.05