Efficient phagocytosis and laccase activity affect the outcome of HIV-associated cryptococcosis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is a leading cause of HIV-associated mortality globally. High fungal burden in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) at diagnosis and poor fungal clearance during treatment are recognized adverse prognostic markers; however, the underlying pathogenic factors that drive these clinical manifestations are incompletely understood. We profiled a large set of clinical isolates for established cryptococcal virulence traits to evaluate the contribution of C. neoformans phenotypic diversity to clinical presentation and outcome in human cryptococcosis.

Methods

Sixty-five C. neoformans isolates from clinical trial patients with matched clinical data were assayed in vitro to determine murine macrophage uptake, intracellular proliferation rate (IPR), capsule i

SUBMITTER: Sabiiti W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4001551 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature