Utilization and cell-surface binding of hemin by Histoplasma capsulatum

Histoplasma capsulatum, a dimorphic fungus capable of causing severe respiratory illness in immunocompromised individuals, resides in macrophages during mammalian infection. Previous studies suggest that siderophore-mediated iron transport may be important for the acquisition of iron from transferrin while the organism resides in macrophages. However, iron is also present as hemin in the intracellular environment of the macrophage and may serve as a major source of iron during infection. Thus the ability of H. capsulatum to use hemin and heme-containing compounds was examined. Histoplasma capsulatum G217B was iron-starved by adding the iron chelator deferoxamine mesylate to the culture. The addition of 10 muM hemin in the presence of deferoxamine mesylate restored growth to the levels seen in the absence of the chelator. Histoplasma capsulatum was also cultivated in an iron-limited, chemically defined medium without the addition of chelators and it was determined that the organism could also use hemoglobin as a sole source of iron. The method of iron internalization from heme was examined by measuring hemin binding to the yeast-cell surface. The ability of H. capsulatum to bind hemin was related to the nutritional status of the cells. Cells grown under iron-limited conditions bound more heme to the cell surface than did cells grown in medium without chelator. Pretreatment of iron-starved cells with proteinase K eliminated the ability of the organism to bind hemin. Additionally, the pre-incubation of iron-starved H. capsulatum with hemin eliminated the ability of these cells to remove hemin from the solution, although pre-incubation of cells with the iron-free form of hemin, protoporphyrin IX, only modestly affected the ability of the organism to bind hemin. These results suggest that H. capsulatum uses hemin as a sole source of iron and that one mechanism of iron acquisition involves a cell-surface receptor for hemin.