Cryptococcus neoformans can form titan-like cells in vitro in response to multiple signals.

ABSTRACT: Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated pathogenic yeast that can change the size of the cells during infection. In particular, this process can occur by enlarging the size of the capsule without modifying the size of the cell body, or by increasing the diameter of the cell body, which is normally accompanied by an increase of the capsule too. This last process leads to the formation of cells of an abnormal enlarged size denominated titan cells. Previous works characterized titan cell formation during pulmonary infection but research on this topic has been hampered due to the difficulty to obtain them in vitro. In this work, we describe in vitro conditions (low nutrient, serum supplemented medium at neutral pH) that promote the transition from regular to titan-like cells. Moreover, addi

SUBMITTER: Trevijano-Contador N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5959073 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature