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PubMed1972

Intracellular fate of Cryptococcus neoformans.

Human peripheral leukocytes were found to engulf and kill cells of Cryptococcus neoformans. Fewer encapsulated than nonencapsulated cells met this fate, since cryptococcal capsular polysaccharide inhibited phagocytosis. During 10 to 12 hr of incubation of nonencapsulated cells in human serum, sufficient polysaccharide was produced to inhibit phagocytosis by 50%. The polysaccharide inhibitor was found in the sera of four patients with cryptococcosis, but not on the surfaces of their leukocytes. Additional experiments indicated that serum is not essential for effective phagocytosis. However, normal human serum contains anticryptococcal activity which is not inhibited by capsular material. Preliminary findings indicate that the phagocytic index of a patient with cryptococcosis may be correlated with the severity of his disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1972

Tumor induction by Cryptococcus neoformans.

A human isolate of Cryptococcus neoformans strain CIA, which was originally obtained in 1963, produced fatal disease in mice. Postmortem examinations showed extensive central nervous system disease. After using this yeast for research for 7 years, we found that it began to produce large tumors after intraperitoneal inoculation in mice. The present study showed that the tumors consisted of large agglomerates of yeast cells, capillaries, and reticular stroma. In concomitant experiments, the same C. neoformans strain, introduced into the lungs of mice in an aerosol, produced asymptomatic infections. A definition for the term "cryptococcoma" is proposed.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1973

Relationship of some Cryptococcus neoformans hypha-forming strains to standard strains and to other species of yeasts as determined by deoxyribonucleic acid base ratios and homologies.

The taxonomic relationship between some hypha-forming Cryptococcus neoformans strains and those that morphologically fit the standard description of this species was determined on the basis of DNA base ratios and DNA-DNA duplex formation. The average guanosine plus cytosine content, as estimated from melting temperature profiles, varied between 43.0 and 45.9% for all C. neoformans strains examined. The relative homology was at least 60% for all C. neoformans strains when the labeled DNA was from either a hyphal variant or a standard strain. The nonpathogenic cryptococci, C. laurentii and C. uniguttulatus, showed less than 10% relative homology with either the hyphal or standard C. neoformans strains. Thus, hyphal and standard strains of C. neoformans were sufficiently related to be considered members of the same species.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1973

Fine structure of Cryptococcus neoformans grown in vitro as observed by freeze-etching.

Cryptococcus neoformans grown on culture media was observed by the freeze-etching technique. In the capsule, short fibrils were seen when freezeetched. This organism was unique in the appearance of the cell wall, which showed two strata. The outer one was dense with particles of about 20 nm in diameter, whereas the inner one was sparse in particles. The appearance of the cell membrane of this organism differed distinctly depending on the culture media. When grown on glycerol medium, the cell membrane possessed, as do other yeasts, clear but somewhat longer and curved invaginations. The membrane of cells grown on nonglycerol medium exhibited, however, only a few invaginations of irregular shape. Instead, characteristically of this organism, the cell membrane showed round depressions of 40 to 200 nm in diameter which were the surface view of the paramural bodies. In cross-fractured cells, both types of paramural bodies were found. Some of them contained a single vesicle of about 50 nm in diameter. These seem to play a role in secreting the cytoplasmic vesicles. Data suggesting the existence of multivesicular bodies in the cytoplasm and multivesicular lomasomes were also obtained. Some of the baglike paramural bodies showed multilayered membrane. These are thought to be plasmalemmasomes. This organism was similar to other yeasts reported in other respects.

Cell Membrane↗
PubMed1973

Fine structure of Cryptococcus neoformans grown in vivo as observed by freeze-etching.

Cryptococcus neoformans grown in the parasitic state was observed by the freeze-etching technique and was compared with that grown on culture media. Unlike other yeasts, this organism grown in vivo is very often devoid of the "ordinary" invaginations. The membrane of the cell grown in vivo was almost free from concavity and convexity except for many round depressions which represent the surface view of paramural bodies. Some of the paramural bodies were found to be multivesicular systems. Most were spherical invaginations containing a single vesicle or its ghost remaining after secretion of the vesicles. In clear contrast to the cell grown in vitro, the in vivo cell contained a great number of vesicles in the cytoplasm. These seemed to show high-secretion activity in C. neoformans grown in the parasitic state. On transfer from in vitro to in vivo, this organism enlarged the cell wall, capsule, and cell body. The appearance of a large vacuole, accumulation of storage organelles, and the existence of rodlike structures, seemingly lipid deposits, were also noted in the cytoplasm of the cell grown in vivo. the meaning of these results as well as the mode of capsular production are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Ultrastructure of septal complex in Filobasidiella neoformans (Cryptococcus neoformans).

Electron microscopy of Filobasidiella neoformans, the perfect state of Cryptococcus neoformans, revealed basidiomycete doliporesepta between hyphal cells and also between clamp connections and adjacent cells. The pore-occluding material was a heterogeneous flattened plate with dark margins and a lighter center, as seen in the species of Filobasidium. Representative basidiomycete parenthesomes were lacking, and endoplasmic reticulum was seen in the dolipore region.

Cell Wall↗
PubMed1976

Light microscopy of basidia, basidiospores, and nuclei in spores and hyphae of Filobasidiella neoformans (Cryptococcus neoformans).

Three hypha-forming strains of Cryptococcus neoformans were induced to form basidia and basidiospores. Light microscopy showed that basidia formed at the ends of terminal hyphal cells and were able to produce from a few to many basidiospores. The morphology of the sexual structures indicated that these strains belonged to the recently described perfect state of C. neoformans, Filobasidiella neoformans. The average dimensions of the basidiospores were 1.9 mum in width by 2.7 mum in length. Giemsa staining revealed that dikaryotic cells were formed in all three strains. Only one strain had both terminal and subterminal dikaryons, indicating functional clamp connections, whereas the two remaining strains had dikaryons restricted to the terminal cells. Basidiospores of two strains were mononucleate, and yeast cell clones derived from single basidiospores of these two strains were able to complete the sexual life cycle, thus indicating their primary homothallic nature.

Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed1982

Biochemical studies of phenoloxidase and utilization of catecholamines in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Protoplasts of Cryptococcus neoformans contain phenoloxidase as a membrane-bound enzyme. The enzyme appeared to be attached on the inner side of cytoplasmic membranes. Synthesis of the enzyme was derepressed by low levels of glucose but was not affected by the level of ammonium. Copper chelators which inhibited the phenoloxidase of other organisms did not affect cryptococcal enzymes. However, cyanide- or iron-chelating agents such as hydroximide derivates or 8-hydroxyquinoline were effective inhibitors, suggesting that cryptococcal phenoloxidase is an iron-containing enzyme. Phenoloxidase of C. neoformans catalyzed the oxidation of various diphenols via dopachrome and labile intermediates to melanin polymers. The kinetic constants (Km) of the phenoloxidase and the permease for dopamine and norepinephrine were low. The correlation between phenoloxidase and the preferential growth of C. neoformans in the host brain is discussed.

Ammonia↗
PubMed1982

Genetic and phenotypic characterization of capsule mutants of Cryptococcus neoformans.

Stable mutants with reduced capacity to produce capsules were isolated from suspensions of Cryptococcus neoformans after treatment of the wild type with a mutagen. The mutants could be assigned one of two phenotypes, hypocapsular or acapsular. Hypocapsular mutants were immunochemically and physicochemically indistinguishable from the wild type, whereas acapsular mutants lacked a major capsular antigen and a negatively charged exterior. In genetic analysis, the mutant trait segregated as a Mendelian gene (1:1) when random basidiospores from an outcross were studied, and analysis of products of single meiotic events from outcrossed mutants was likewise consistent with meiotic segregation. Two-factor crosses yielded the expected four classes of progeny, with recombinants equal to parentals. We concluded that chromosomal genes are responsible for synthesis of the cryptococcal capsule and that random basidiospore analysis represents a useful technique for genetic analysis in this species.

Antigens, Fungal↗
PubMed1982

Melanin-lacking mutants of Cryptococcus neoformans and their virulence for mice.

A double mutant of Cryptococcus neoformans which lacked the ability to produce melanin (Mel-) on media containing diphenols and failed to grow at 37 degrees C (temperature sensitive, Tem-) was obtained by UV irradiation and subsequent cloning. The mutant showed two lesions in melanogenesis in that it lacked the active transport system for diphenolic compounds and also lacked phenoloxidase. Ultrastructures of the mutant and wild-type cells grown on a medium with or without L-dopa showed that only the wild-type cells grown on L-dopa medium formed a dark cell wall layer, presumably containing melanin. The mutant was crossed with a wild type, and the phenotypes of the progeny were analyzed. The analysis showed no linkage between the mating type and either Mel or Tem loci, but loose linkage was seen between Mel and Tem loci. The progeny, Mel+ Tem+, Mel+ Tem-, Mel- Tem+, and Mel- Tem-, were studied for their virulence in mice. Only Mel+ Tem+ types killed mice with an inoculum of 5 X 10(5) cells within 50 days.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Occurrence of diploid strains of Cryptococcus neoformans.

A mating between niacin and pantothenate auxotrophs of Cryptococcus neoformans gave a few prototrophic progeny that were self-fertile. These were uninuclear but contained twice as much DNA as the parental strains. Segregation of nutritional markers was observed upon sporulation. We conclude that these self-fertile strains are diploids.

Cryptococcus↗
PubMed1986

Genetic complementation in Cryptococcus neoformans.

A complementation test was devised for the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Complementation was signalled by the growth of prototrophic heterokaryons generated in crosses of the type aB X Ab, where a and b represent any two of the genetic markers ilv1, cys1, cys2, and cys3. The cloned complementing heterokaryons formed characteristic hyphal colonies that contained both hyphae and yeast cells. The heterokaryon-derived yeasts were of three kinds: parental haploids, recombinant haploids, and diploids.

Cloning, Molecular↗
PubMed1989

Cloning of 18S and 25S rDNAs from the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans.

Cryptococcus neoformans is an important pathogenic fungus that has been classified as a basidiomycete. Little is known of the molecular genetics of this fungal pathogen. To begin such studies, we devised a procedure for extraction of DNA from cryptococci; this method involved the use of the cell wall-active enzyme NovoZym 234. Using cloned rDNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a probe, we identified homologous restriction fragments in a Southern blot of digested C. neoformans DNA. An 8.6-kilobase HindIII fragment that hybridized with the yeast rDNA probe was ligated with the vector pBR322 and cloned into Escherichia coli. When the fragment was used as a probe, it hybridized to the 18S and 25S rRNAs of C. neoformans in Northern (RNA) blots of native and denatured RNA. It bound at high stringency only weakly to the rRNAs of the ascomycete S. cerevisiae. The locations of the genes for 5/5.8S, 18S, and 25S subunits in the cloned fragment were identified with labeled rRNA of these different types.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed1989

Localization of mannoprotein in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Cell wall mannoprotein of nonpathogenic yeasts is surface exposed, since the cells are agglutinated by concanavalin A and antimannoprotein antibodies. However, nonencapsulated cells of Cryptococcus neoformans were agglutinated neither by concanavalin A nor by antimannoprotein antibodies. Immunogold electron microscopy located most mannoprotein in the inner cell wall. Chemical analysis of purified cell walls showed the lack of mannose, xylose, and galactose residues. These data indicate that cryptococcal mannoprotein recovered from the cultural supernatant is a nonstructural element of the cell wall.

Cell Wall↗