The capsule of Cryptococcus neoformans
Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: is its dominant virulence factor and plays a key role in the biology of this fungus. In this essay, we focus on the capsule as a cellular structure and note the limitations inherent in the current methodologies available for its study. Given that no single method can provide the structure of the capsule, our notions of what is the cryptococcal capsule must be arrived at by synthesizing information gathered from very different methodological approaches including microscopy, polysaccharide chemistry and physical chemistry of macromolecules. The emerging picture is one of a carefully regulated dynamic structure that is constantly rearranged as a response to environmental stimulation and cellular replication. In the environment, the capsule protects the fungus against desiccation and phagocytic predators. In animal hosts the capsule functions in both offensive and defensive modes, such that it interferes with immune responses while providing the fungal cell with a defensive shield that is both antiphagocytic and capable of absorbing microbicidal oxidative bursts from phagocytic cells. Finally, we delineate a set of unsolved problems in the cryptococcal capsule field that could provide fertile ground for future investigations.
Source: Virulence
Institution: Johns Hopkins University
Language: Yiddish
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,557
Awards: G2160221409, G2436179761, Synergy of Host Defense Mechanisms in the Lung, G2773611754, G3574182108, G4559384, Protective antibodies for Cryptococcal Infections, Biology of Fungal Melanin, G9000293805, The Molecular and Cellular Basis of Infectious Diseases (MCBID) Program, Molecular Characterization of C. neoformans Antibodies
OpenAlex ID: W2791963883