In vivo yeast cell morphogenesis is regulated by a p21-activated kinase in the human pathogen Penicillium marneffei.

ABSTRACT: Pathogens have developed diverse strategies to infect their hosts and evade the host defense systems. Many pathogens reside within host phagocytic cells, thus evading much of the host immune system. For dimorphic fungal pathogens which grow in a multicellular hyphal form, a central attribute which facilitates growth inside host cells without rapid killing is the capacity to switch from the hyphal growth form to a unicellular yeast form. Blocking this transition abolishes or severely reduces pathogenicity. Host body temperature (37 degrees C) is the most common inducer of the hyphal to yeast transition in vitro for many dimorphic fungi, and it is often assumed that this is the inducer in vivo. This work describes the identification and analysis of a new pathway involved in sensing the envir

SUBMITTER: Boyce KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2777384 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature