1
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Forden CA. Phagolysosomal resistance hypothesized to be a danger signal. Scand J Immunol 2024:e13400. [PMID: 39138895 DOI: 10.1111/sji.13400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 07/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
Antigen presenting cells sometimes require T cell "help" to kill and decompose microbes they capture, especially when those microbes resist effector molecules including nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species. Pathogens are more likely to resist those effectors, shared by the innate and adaptive immune systems, than are commensals. Does such resistance alert the immune system to the danger posed by those pathogens? Several lines of evidence suggest this occurs. Mouse studies showed a surprising exacerbation, not alleviation of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, by suppression of nitric oxide production, but only when the suppression was applied to animals undergoing vaccination with myelin. In contrast, animals receiving T cells activated by vaccination without suppression of nitric oxide benefitted from reduced autoimmune cytotoxicity when nitric oxide production was suppressed after adoptive transfer. Vaccinia and adenovirus suppress nitric oxide production and have been successful vaccine platforms, also consistent with the above phagolysosomal resistance hypothesis. The hypothesis solves a long-standing quandary-how can nitric oxide protect against both infection and autoimmunity, especially autoimmune diseases for which it seems a major effector? The importance of physical linkage between epitopes, first proposed in Bretscher's Two-Step, Two-Signal theory dependent on B cells, is extended to include phagolysosomal resistance in general, plus a corollary proposition that the immune system detects resistance to dissociation of high-affinity pathogenic ligands from host binding sites to make neutralizing antibodies.
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Tugume L, Ssebambulidde K, Kasibante J, Ellis J, Wake RM, Gakuru J, Lawrence DS, Abassi M, Rajasingham R, Meya DB, Boulware DR. Cryptococcal meningitis. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2023; 9:62. [PMID: 37945681 DOI: 10.1038/s41572-023-00472-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii species complexes cause meningoencephalitis with high fatality rates and considerable morbidity, particularly in persons with deficient T cell-mediated immunity, most commonly affecting people living with HIV. Whereas the global incidence of HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis (HIV-CM) has decreased over the past decade, cryptococcosis still accounts for one in five AIDS-related deaths globally due to the persistent burden of advanced HIV disease. Moreover, mortality remains high (~50%) in low-resource settings. The armamentarium to decrease cryptococcosis-associated mortality is expanding: cryptococcal antigen screening in the serum and pre-emptive azole therapy for cryptococcal antigenaemia are well established, whereas enhanced pre-emptive combination treatment regimens to improve survival of persons with cryptococcal antigenaemia are in clinical trials. Short courses (≤7 days) of amphotericin-based therapy combined with flucytosine are currently the preferred options for induction therapy of cryptococcal meningitis. Whether short-course induction regimens improve long-term morbidity such as depression, reduced neurocognitive performance and physical disability among survivors is the subject of further study. Here, we discuss underlying immunology, changing epidemiology, and updates on the management of cryptococcal meningitis with emphasis on HIV-associated disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lillian Tugume
- Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
| | - Kenneth Ssebambulidde
- Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - John Kasibante
- Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Jayne Ellis
- Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
- Clinical Research Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Rachel M Wake
- Institute for Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK
| | - Jane Gakuru
- Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - David S Lawrence
- Clinical Research Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Mahsa Abassi
- Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Radha Rajasingham
- Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - David B Meya
- Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
- Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - David R Boulware
- Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Piffer AC, Santos FMD, Thomé MP, Diehl C, Garcia AWA, Kinskovski UP, Schneider RDO, Gerber A, Feltes BC, Schrank A, Vasconcelos ATR, Lenz G, Kmetzsch L, Vainstein MH, Staats CC. Transcriptomic analysis reveals that mTOR pathway can be modulated in macrophage cells by the presence of cryptococcal cells. Genet Mol Biol 2021; 44:e20200390. [PMID: 34352067 PMCID: PMC8341293 DOI: 10.1590/1678-4685-gmb-2020-0390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are the etiological agents of cryptococcosis, a high mortality disease. The development of such disease depends on the interaction of fungal cells with macrophages, in which they can reside and replicate. In order to dissect the molecular mechanisms by which cryptococcal cells modulate the activity of macrophages, a genome-scale comparative analysis of transcriptional changes in macrophages exposed to Cryptococcus spp. was conducted. Altered expression of nearly 40 genes was detected in macrophages exposed to cryptococcal cells. The major processes were associated with the mTOR pathway, whose associated genes exhibited decreased expression in macrophages incubated with cryptococcal cells. Phosphorylation of p70S6K and GSK-3β was also decreased in macrophages incubated with fungal cells. In this way, Cryptococci presence could drive the modulation of mTOR pathway in macrophages possibly to increase the survival of the pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alícia C Piffer
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Francine M Dos Santos
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Marcos P Thomé
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Camila Diehl
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Ane Wichine Acosta Garcia
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Uriel Perin Kinskovski
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Rafael de Oliveira Schneider
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Alexandra Gerber
- Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, Petrópolis, RJ, Brazil
| | - Bruno César Feltes
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Instituto de Informática, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Augusto Schrank
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | | | - Guido Lenz
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Lívia Kmetzsch
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Marilene H Vainstein
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Charley C Staats
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
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4
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Zrg1, a cryptococcal protein associated with regulation of growth in nutrient deprivation conditions. Genomics 2021; 113:805-814. [PMID: 33529779 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2021.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Cryptococcus gattii is one of the causes of cryptococcosis, a life-threatening disease generally characterized by pneumonia and/or meningitis. Zinc is an essential element for life, being required for the activity of many proteins with catalytic and structural roles. Here, we characterize ZRG1 (zinc-related gene 1), which codes a product involved in zinc metabolism. Transcriptional profiling revealed that zinc availability regulated the expression of ZRG1, and its null mutants demonstrated impaired growth in zinc- and nitrogen-limiting conditions. Moreover, zrg1 strains displayed alterations in the expression of the zinc homeostasis-related genes ZAP1 and ZIP1. Notably, cryptococcal cells lacking Zrg1 displayed upregulation of autophagy-like phenotypes. Despite no differences were detected in the classical virulence-associated traits; cryptococcal cells lacking ZRG1 displayed decreased capacity for survival inside macrophages and attenuated virulence in an invertebrate model. Together, these results indicate that ZRG1 plays an important role in proper zinc metabolism, and is necessary for cryptococcal fitness and virulence.
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Casadevall A, Damman C. Updating the fungal infection-mammalian selection hypothesis at the end of the Cretaceous Period. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008451. [PMID: 32673359 PMCID: PMC7365386 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arturo Casadevall
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Chris Damman
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
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Dragotakes Q, Stouffer KM, Fu MS, Sella Y, Youn C, Yoon OI, De Leon-Rodriguez CM, Freij JB, Bergman A, Casadevall A. Macrophages use a bet-hedging strategy for antimicrobial activity in phagolysosomal acidification. J Clin Invest 2020; 130:3805-3819. [PMID: 32298242 PMCID: PMC7346583 DOI: 10.1172/jci133938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 04/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial ingestion by a macrophage results in the formation of an acidic phagolysosome but the host cell has no information on the pH susceptibility of the ingested organism. This poses a problem for the macrophage and raises the fundamental question of how the phagocytic cell optimizes the acidification process to prevail. We analyzed the dynamical distribution of phagolysosomal pH in murine and human macrophages that had ingested live or dead Cryptococcus neoformans cells, or inert beads. Phagolysosomal acidification produced a range of pH values that approximated normal distributions, but these differed from normality depending on ingested particle type. Analysis of the increments of pH reduction revealed no forbidden ordinal patterns, implying that the phagosomal acidification process was a stochastic dynamical system. Using simulation modeling, we determined that by stochastically acidifying a phagolysosome to a pH within the observed distribution, macrophages sacrificed a small amount of overall fitness to gain the benefit of reduced variation in fitness. Hence, chance in the final phagosomal pH introduces unpredictability to the outcome of the macrophage-microbe, which implies a bet-hedging strategy that benefits the macrophage. While bet hedging is common in biological systems at the organism level, our results show its use at the organelle and cellular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quigly Dragotakes
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kaitlin M. Stouffer
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Man Shun Fu
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Yehonatan Sella
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Christine Youn
- Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Olivia Insun Yoon
- Johns Hopkins University, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Carlos M. De Leon-Rodriguez
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Joudeh B. Freij
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Aviv Bergman
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| | - Arturo Casadevall
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Variation in Cell Surface Hydrophobicity among Cryptococcus neoformans Strains Influences Interactions with Amoebas. mSphere 2020; 5:5/2/e00310-20. [PMID: 32350094 PMCID: PMC7193044 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00310-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are pathogenic fungi that cause significant morbidity and mortality. Cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) is a biophysical parameter that influences the adhesion of fungal cells or spores to biotic and abiotic surfaces. C. neoformans is encased by polysaccharide capsule that is highly hydrophilic and is a critical determinant of virulence. In this study, we report large differences in the CSH of some C. neoformans and C. gattii strains. The capsular polysaccharides of C. neoformans strains differ in repeating motifs and therefore vary in the number of hydroxyl groups, which, along with higher-order structure of the capsule, may contribute to the variation in hydrophobicity that we observed. We found that cell wall composition, in the context of chitin-chitosan content, does not influence CSH. For C. neoformans, CSH correlated with phagocytosis by natural soil predator Acanthamoeba castellanii Furthermore, capsular binding of the protective antibody (18B7), but not the nonprotective antibody (13F1), altered the CSH of C. neoformans strains. Variability in CSH could be an important characteristic in comparing the biological properties of cryptococcal strains.IMPORTANCE The interaction of a microbial cell with its environment is influenced by the biophysical properties of a cell. The affinity of the cell surface for water, defined by the cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH), is a biophysical parameter that varies among different strains of Cryptococcus neoformans The CSH influences the phagocytosis of the yeast by its natural predator in the soil, the amoeba. Studying variation in biophysical properties like CSH gives us insight into the dynamic host-predator interaction and host-pathogen interaction in a damage-response framework.
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Chrissian C, Camacho E, Fu MS, Prados-Rosales R, Chatterjee S, Cordero RJB, Lodge JK, Casadevall A, Stark RE. Melanin deposition in two Cryptococcus species depends on cell-wall composition and flexibility. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:1815-1828. [PMID: 31896575 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra119.011949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 12/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are two species complexes in the large fungal genus Cryptococcus and are responsible for potentially lethal disseminated infections. These two complexes share several phenotypic traits, such as production of the protective compound melanin. In C. neoformans, the pigment associates with key cellular constituents that are essential for melanin deposition within the cell wall. Consequently, melanization is modulated by changes in cell-wall composition or ultrastructure. However, whether similar factors influence melanization in C. gattii is unknown. Herein, we used transmission EM, biochemical assays, and solid-state NMR spectroscopy of representative isolates and "leaky melanin" mutant strains from each species complex to examine the compositional and structural factors governing cell-wall pigment deposition in C. neoformans and C. gattii. The principal findings were the following. 1) C. gattii R265 had an exceptionally high chitosan content compared with C. neoformans H99; a rich chitosan composition promoted homogeneous melanin distribution throughout the cell wall but did not increase the propensity of pigment deposition. 2) Strains from both species manifesting the leaky melanin phenotype had reduced chitosan content, which was compensated for by the production of lipids and other nonpolysaccharide constituents that depended on the species or mutation. 3) Changes in the relative rigidity of cell-wall chitin were associated with aberrant pigment retention, implicating cell-wall flexibility as an independent variable in cryptococcal melanin assembly. Overall, our results indicate that cell-wall composition and molecular architecture are critical factors for the anchoring and arrangement of melanin pigments in both C. neoformans and C. gattii species complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Chrissian
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, City College of New York and CUNY Institute for Macromolecular Assemblies, New York, New York 10031; Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10016
| | - Emma Camacho
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Man Shun Fu
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Rafael Prados-Rosales
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York 10033; Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health and Microbiology, Autonoma University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Subhasish Chatterjee
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, City College of New York and CUNY Institute for Macromolecular Assemblies, New York, New York 10031
| | - Radames J B Cordero
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Jennifer K Lodge
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110
| | - Arturo Casadevall
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Ruth E Stark
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, City College of New York and CUNY Institute for Macromolecular Assemblies, New York, New York 10031; Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10016; Ph.D. Program in Chemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10016.
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9
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Hansakon A, Mutthakalin P, Ngamskulrungroj P, Chayakulkeeree M, Angkasekwinai P. Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii clinical isolates from Thailand display diverse phenotypic interactions with macrophages. Virulence 2019; 10:26-36. [PMID: 30520685 PMCID: PMC6298761 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2018.1556150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cryptococcus-macrophage interaction is crucial in the development of cryptococcocal diseases. C. neoformans and C. gattii are major pathogenic species that occupy different niches and cause different clinical manifestations. However, the differences of macrophage interaction among these species in affecting different disease outcomes and immune responses have not been clearly addressed. Here, we examined the macrophage uptake rates, intracellular loads and intracellular proliferation rates of C. neoformans and C. gattii clinical isolates from Thailand and analyzed the effect of those interactions on fungal burdens and host immune responses. C. neoformans isolates showed a higher phagocytosis rate but lower intracellular proliferation rate than C. gattii. Indeed, the high intracellular proliferation rate of C. gattii isolates did not influence the fungal burdens in lungs and brains of infected mice, whereas infection with high-uptake C. neoformans isolates resulted in significantly higher brain burdens that associated with reduced survival rate. Interestingly, alveolar macrophages of mice infected with high-uptake C. neoformans isolates showed distinct patterns of alternatively activated macrophage (M2) gene expressions with higher Arg1, Fizz1, Il13 and lower Nos2, Ifng, Il6, Tnfa, Mcp1, csf2 and Ip10 transcripts. Corresponding to this finding, infection with high-uptake C. neoformans resulted in enhanced arginase enzyme activity, elevated IL-4 and IL-13 and lowered IL-17 in the bronchoalveolar lavage. Thus, our data suggest that the macrophage interaction with C. neoformans and C. gattii may affect different disease outcomes and the high phagocytosis rates of C. neoformans influence the induction of type-2 immune responses that support fungal dissemination and disease progression. Abbreviation: Arg1: Arginase 1; BAL: Bronchoalveolar lavage; CCL17: Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 17; CNS: Central nervous system; CSF: Cerebrospinal fluid; Csf2: Colony-stimulating factor 2; Fizz1: Found in inflammatory zone 1; HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus; ICL: Intracellular cryptococcal load; Ifng: Interferon gamma; Ip10: IFN-g-inducible protein 10; IPR: Intracellular proliferation rate; Mcp1: Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; Nos2: Nitric oxide synthase 2; PBS: Phosphate-Buffered Saline; Th: T helper cell; Tnfa: Tumor necrosis factor alpha.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adithap Hansakon
- a Department of Medical Technology, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences , Thammasat University , Pathumthani , Thailand.,b Graduate Program in Biomedical Science, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences , Thammasat University , Pathumthani , Thailand
| | - Putthiphak Mutthakalin
- a Department of Medical Technology, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences , Thammasat University , Pathumthani , Thailand
| | - Popchai Ngamskulrungroj
- c Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital , Mahidol University , Bangkok , Thailand
| | - Methee Chayakulkeeree
- d Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital , Mahidol University , Bangkok , Thailand
| | - Pornpimon Angkasekwinai
- a Department of Medical Technology, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences , Thammasat University , Pathumthani , Thailand.,b Graduate Program in Biomedical Science, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences , Thammasat University , Pathumthani , Thailand
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Camacho E, Casadevall A. Cryptococcal Traits Mediating Adherence to Biotic and Abiotic Surfaces. J Fungi (Basel) 2018; 4:jof4030088. [PMID: 30060601 PMCID: PMC6162697 DOI: 10.3390/jof4030088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2018] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Several species in the genus Cryptococcus are facultative intracellular pathogens capable of causing disease associated with high mortality and morbidity in humans. These fungi interact with other organisms in the soil, and these interactions may contribute to the development of adaptation mechanisms that function in virulence by promoting fungal survival in animal hosts. Fungal adhesion molecules, also known as adhesins, have been classically considered as cell-surface or secreted proteins that play critical roles in microbial pathogenesis or in biofilm formation as structural components. Pathogenic Cryptococcus spp. differ from other pathogenic yeasts in having a polysaccharide capsule that covers the cell wall surface and precludes interactions of those structures with host cell receptors. Hence, pathogenic Cryptococcus spp. use unconventional tools for surface attachment. In this essay, we review the unique traits and mechanisms favoring adhesion of Cryptococcus spp. to biotic and abiotic surfaces. Knowledge of the traits that mediate adherence could be exploited in the development of therapeutic, biomedical, and/or industrial products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Camacho
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St Room E5132, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
| | - Arturo Casadevall
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St Room E5132, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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