| Literature DB >> 33497839 |
Abstract
Cryptococcus neoformans is a dimorphic fungus that causes lethal meningoencephalitis mainly in immunocompromised individuals. Different morphotypes enable this environmental fungus and opportunistic pathogen to adapt to different natural niches and exhibit different levels of pathogenicity in various hosts. It is well-recognized that C. neoformans undergoes bisexual or unisexual reproduction in vitro to generate genotypic, morphotypic, and phenotypic diversity, which augments its ability for adaptation. However, if and how sexual reproduction and the meiotic machinery exert any direct impact on the infection process is unclear. This review summarizes recent discoveries on the regulation of cryptococcal life cycle and morphogenesis, and how they impact cryptococcal pathogenicity. The potential role of the meiotic machinery on ploidy regulation during cryptococcal infection is also discussed. This review aims to stimulate further investigation on links between fungal morphogenesis, sexual reproduction, and virulence.Entities:
Keywords: Cryptococcus neoformans; DNA damage response; Dimorphism; Host-pathogen interactions; Meiosis; Morphogenesis; Pathogenesis; Ploidy; Sexual cycles; Vaccination
Mesh：
Year: 2021 PMID： 33497839 PMCID： PMC8092418 DOI： 10.1016/j.meegid.2021.104731
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Infect Genet Evol ISSN： 1567-1348 Impact factor: 3.342