The Transcription Factor Pdr802 Regulates Titan Cell Formation and Pathogenicity of Cryptococcus neoformans.

ABSTRACT: Cryptococcus neoformans is a ubiquitous, opportunistic fungal pathogen that kills almost 200,000 people worldwide each year. It is acquired when mammalian hosts inhale the infectious propagules; these are deposited in the lung and, in the context of immunocompromise, may disseminate to the brain and cause lethal meningoencephalitis. Once inside the host, C. neoformans undergoes a variety of adaptive processes, including secretion of virulence factors, expansion of a polysaccharide capsule that impedes phagocytosis, and the production of giant (Titan) cells. The transcription factor Pdr802 is one regulator of these responses to the host environment. Expression of the corresponding gene is highly induced under host-like conditions in vitro and is critical for C. neofo

SUBMITTER: Reuwsaat JCV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8092302 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature