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Ortiz SC, Hull CM. Biogenesis, germination, and pathogenesis of Cryptococcus spores. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2024; 88:e0019623. [PMID: 38440970 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00196-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
SUMMARYSpores are primary infectious propagules for the majority of human fungal pathogens; however, relatively little is known about their fundamental biology. One strategy to address this deficiency has been to develop the basidiospores of Cryptococcus into a model for pathogenic spore biology. Here, we provide an update on the state of the field with a comprehensive review of the data generated from the study of Cryptococcus basidiospores from their formation (sporulation) and differentiation (germination) to their roles in pathogenesis. Importantly, we provide support for the presence of basidiospores in nature, define the key characteristics that distinguish basidiospores from yeast cells, and clarify their likely roles as infectious particles. This review is intended to demonstrate the importance of basidiospores in the field of Cryptococcus research and provide a solid foundation from which researchers who wish to study sexual spores in any fungal system can launch their studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien C Ortiz
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Christina M Hull
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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Ortiz SC, Pennington K, Thomson DD, Bertuzzi M. Novel Insights into Aspergillus fumigatus Pathogenesis and Host Response from State-of-the-Art Imaging of Host-Pathogen Interactions during Infection. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8030264. [PMID: 35330266 PMCID: PMC8954776 DOI: 10.3390/jof8030264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus spores initiate more than 3,000,000 chronic and 300,000 invasive diseases annually, worldwide. Depending on the immune status of the host, inhalation of these spores can lead to a broad spectrum of disease, including invasive aspergillosis, which carries a 50% mortality rate overall; however, this mortality rate increases substantially if the infection is caused by azole-resistant strains or diagnosis is delayed or missed. Increasing resistance to existing antifungal treatments is becoming a major concern; for example, resistance to azoles (the first-line available oral drug against Aspergillus species) has risen by 40% since 2006. Despite high morbidity and mortality, the lack of an in-depth understanding of A. fumigatus pathogenesis and host response has hampered the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the clinical management of fungal infections. Recent advances in sample preparation, infection models and imaging techniques applied in vivo have addressed important gaps in fungal research, whilst questioning existing paradigms. This review highlights the successes and further potential of these recent technologies in understanding the host-pathogen interactions that lead to aspergillosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien C. Ortiz
- Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Core Technology Facility, Manchester Fungal Infection Group, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Grafton Street, Manchester M13 9NT, UK; (S.C.O.); (K.P.)
| | - Katie Pennington
- Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Core Technology Facility, Manchester Fungal Infection Group, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Grafton Street, Manchester M13 9NT, UK; (S.C.O.); (K.P.)
| | - Darren D. Thomson
- Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope Building, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK;
| | - Margherita Bertuzzi
- Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Core Technology Facility, Manchester Fungal Infection Group, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Grafton Street, Manchester M13 9NT, UK; (S.C.O.); (K.P.)
- Correspondence:
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Frerichs AB, Huang M, Ortiz SC, Hull CM. Methods for Manipulating Cryptococcus Spores. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 8:jof8010004. [PMID: 35049944 PMCID: PMC8779225 DOI: 10.3390/jof8010004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Spores are essential for the long-term survival of many diverse organisms, due to their roles in reproduction and stress resistance. In the environmental human fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus, basidiospores are robust cells with the ability to cause disease in animal models of infection. Here we describe methods for producing and purifying Cryptococcus basidiospores in quantities sufficient for large-scale analyses. The production of high numbers of pure spores has facilitated the development of new assays, including quantitative germination assays, and enabled transcriptomic, proteomic, and virulence studies, leading to discoveries of behaviors and properties unique to spores and spore-mediated disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna B. Frerichs
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706, USA; (A.B.F.); (M.H.); (S.C.O.)
| | - Mingwei Huang
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706, USA; (A.B.F.); (M.H.); (S.C.O.)
| | - Sébastien C. Ortiz
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706, USA; (A.B.F.); (M.H.); (S.C.O.)
| | - Christina M. Hull
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706, USA; (A.B.F.); (M.H.); (S.C.O.)
- Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Correspondence:
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Walsh NM, Botts MR, McDermott AJ, Ortiz SC, Wüthrich M, Klein B, Hull CM. Infectious particle identity determines dissemination and disease outcome for the inhaled human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus. PLoS Pathog 2019; 15:e1007777. [PMID: 31247052 PMCID: PMC6597114 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The majority of invasive human fungal pathogens gain access to their human hosts via the inhalation of spores from the environment into the lung, but relatively little is known about this infectious process. Among human fungal pathogens the most frequent cause of inhaled fatal fungal disease is Cryptococcus, which can disseminate from the lungs to other tissues, including the brain, where it causes meningoencephalitis. To determine the mechanisms by which distinct infectious particles of Cryptococcus cause disseminated disease, we evaluated two developmental cell types (spores and yeast) in mouse models of infection. We discovered that while both yeast and spores from several strains cause fatal disease, there was a consistently higher fungal burden in the brains of spore-infected mice. To determine the basis for this difference, we compared the pathogenesis of avirulent yeast strains with their spore progeny derived from sexual crosses. Strikingly, we discovered that spores produced by avirulent yeast caused uniformly fatal disease in the murine inhalation model of infection. We determined that this difference in outcome is associated with the preferential dissemination of spores to the lymph system. Specifically, mice infected with spores harbored Cryptococcus in their lung draining lymph nodes as early as one day after infection, whereas mice infected with yeast did not. Furthermore, phagocyte depletion experiments revealed this dissemination to the lymph nodes to be dependent on CD11c+ phagocytes, indicating a critical role for host immune cells in preferential spore trafficking. Taken together, these data support a model in which spores capitalize on phagocytosis by immune cells to escape the lung and gain access to other tissues, such as the central nervous system, to cause fatal disease. These previously unrealized insights into early interactions between pathogenic fungal spores and lung phagocytes provide new opportunities for understanding cryptococcosis and other spore-mediated fungal diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi M. Walsh
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Michael R. Botts
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Andrew J. McDermott
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Sébastien C. Ortiz
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Marcel Wüthrich
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Bruce Klein
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Christina M. Hull
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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