Induction of Protective Immunity to Cryptococcal Infection in Mice by a Heat-Killed, Chitosan-Deficient Strain of Cryptococcus neoformans.

ABSTRACT: Cryptococcus neoformans is a major opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes fatal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals and is responsible for a large proportion of AIDS-related deaths. The fungal cell wall is an essential organelle which undergoes constant modification during various stages of growth and is critical for fungal pathogenesis. One critical component of the fungal cell wall is chitin, which in C. neoformans is predominantly deacetylated to chitosan. We previously reported that three chitin deacetylase (CDA) genes have to be deleted to generate a chitosan-deficient C. neoformans strain. This cda1Δ2Δ3Δ strain was avirulent in mice, as it was rapidly cleared from the lungs of infected mice. Here, we report that clearance of the cda1Δ2Δ3Δ strain was associated wit

SUBMITTER: Upadhya R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4959652 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature