Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Cryptococcosisis is an infectious disease caused by yeasts from the gender Cryptococcus, being C. \nneoformans and C. gattii the species more offenly isolated. Cryptococcus neoformans is a \ncosmopolitan environmental pathogen of major concern among HIV patients which has a significant \nincidence in developing areas. Cryptococcus neoformans blastoconidia or desiccated spores are \ninhaled and can cause pneumonia and meningitis in immunosuppressed individuals. Its sibling \nspecies, Cryptococcus gattii, is more restricted to tropical areas and infects principally \nimmunocompetent individuals and causes mainly pneumonia. Cryptococcus interaction with the \nhost has been widely studied for its capacity to modulate the immune response, replicate within \nmacrophages, disseminate from the lungs to the central nervous system, and/or stay in a latent \nstate for years. The main cryptococcal virulence factors are a polysaccharide capsule and melanin \naccumulation, although this yeast has also other traits, such as urease and phospholipases that \nconfer adaptation to the host. \nMorphogenesis is a common feature among fungal pathogens. Cryptococcus neoformans does not \nform filaments nor pseudohyphae. However, during infection, this yeast undergoes cellular changes \nwhich result in the appearance of different cellular types. These changes are: 1) Capsule \nenlargement; and 2) Significant growth of the whole cell, which leads to the formation of \n“Giant/Titan” cells. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of these \nprocesses are not known...
Author: Rocío García Rodas
Language: Spanish
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W93957755