Cell wall modifications during conidial maturation of the human pathogenic fungus Pseudallescheria boydii.

ABSTRACT: Progress in extending the life expectancy of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients remains jeopardized by the increasing incidence of fungal respiratory infections. Pseudallescheria boydii (P. boydii), an emerging pathogen of humans, is a filamentous fungus frequently isolated from the respiratory secretions of CF patients. It is commonly believed that infection by this fungus occurs through inhalation of airborne conidia, but the mechanisms allowing the adherence of Pseudallescheria to the host epithelial cells and its escape from the host immune defenses remain largely unknown. Given that the cell wall orchestrates all these processes, we were interested in studying its dynamic changes in conidia as function of the age of cultures. We found that the surface hydrophobicity and electronegative cha

SUBMITTER: Ghamrawi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4065047 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature