Cryptococcal phospholipase B1 is required for intracellular proliferation and control of titan cell morphology during macrophage infection.

ABSTRACT: Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen and a leading cause of fungal-infection-related fatalities, especially in immunocompromised hosts. Several virulence factors are known to play a major role in the pathogenesis of cryptococcal infections, including the enzyme phospholipase B1 (Plb1). Compared to other well-studied Cryptococcus neoformans virulence factors such as the polysaccharide capsule and melanin production, very little is known about the contribution of Plb1 to cryptococcal virulence. Phospholipase B1 is a phospholipid-modifying enzyme that has been implicated in multiple stages of cryptococcal pathogenesis, including initiation and persistence of pulmonary infection and dissemination to the central nervous system, but the underlying reason for these phenotyp

SUBMITTER: Evans RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4363446 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature