Modulation of Zinc Homeostasis in Acanthamoeba castellanii as a Possible Antifungal Strategy against Cryptococcus gattii.

ABSTRACT: Cryptococcus gattii is a basidiomycetous yeast that can be found in the environment and is one of the agents of cryptococcosis, a life-threatening disease. During its life cycle, cryptococcal cells take hold inside environmental predators such as amoebae. Despite their evolutionary distance, macrophages and amoebae share conserved similar steps of phagocytosis and microbial killing. To evaluate whether amoebae also share other antifungal strategies developed by macrophages, we investigated nutritional immunity against cryptococcal cells. We focused on zinc homeostasis modulation in Acanthamoeba castellanii infected with C. gattii. The intracellular proliferation rate (IPR) in amoebae was determined using C. gattii R265 and mutants for the ZIP1 gene, which

SUBMITTER: Ribeiro NS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5573748 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature