Membrane Integrity Contributes to Resistance of Cryptococcus neoformans to the Cell Wall Inhibitor Caspofungin.

ABSTRACT: The fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans causes up to 278 000 infections each year globally, resulting in up to 180,000 deaths annually, mostly impacting immunocompromised people. Therapeutic options for C. neoformans infections are very limited. Caspofungin, a member of the echinocandin class of antifungals, is generally well tolerated but clinically ineffective against C. neoformans. We sought to identify biological processes that can be targeted to render the cell more susceptible to echinocandins by screening the available libraries of gene deletion mutants made in the KN99α background for caspofungin sensitivity. We adapted a Candida albicans fungal biofilm assay for the growth characteristics of C. neoformans and systematically screened 4,030 individual gene deletion mutants in tr

SUBMITTER: Moreira-Walsh B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9429927 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature