Phosphate availability conditions caspofungin tolerance, capsule attachment and titan cell formation in Cryptococcus neoformans.

ABSTRACT: There is an urgent need for new antifungal drugs to treat invasive fungal diseases. Unfortunately, the echinocandin drugs that are fungicidal against other important fungal pathogens are ineffective against Cryptococcus neoformans, the causative agent of life-threatening meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised people. Contributing mechanisms for echinocandin tolerance are emerging with connections to calcineurin signaling, the cell wall, and membrane composition. In this context, we discovered that a defect in phosphate uptake impairs the tolerance of C. neoformans to the echinocandin caspofungin. Our previous analysis of mutants lacking three high affinity phosphate transporters revealed reduced elaboration of the polysaccharide capsule and attenuated virulence in mice. We

SUBMITTER: Qu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11349702 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature