Glucosylceramide synthase is an essential regulator of pathogenicity of Cryptococcus neoformans.

TO : Glucosylceramide synthase is an essential regulator of pathogenicity of Cryptococcus neoformans

Cryptococcal virulence: beyond the usual suspects.

In this issue of the JCI, the observation of the altered pathogenicity of a Cryptococcus neoformans glucosylceramide (GlcCer) mutant shines new light on the initiation of cryptococcal infection. Rittershaus and colleagues demonstrate that the cell surface glycosphingolipid GlcCer is essential for the fungus to grow in the extracellular environments of the host bloodstream and alveolar spaces of...

Characterization of monoclonal antibody MEST-2 specific to glucosylceramide of fungi and plants.

An IgG2a monoclonal antibody anti-glucosylceramide was established and termed MEST-2. High performance thin layer chromatography immunostaining, and solid-phase radioimmunoassay showed that MEST-2 reacts with glucosylceramide from yeast and mycelium forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Histoplasma capsulatum, and Sporothrix schenckii; from hyphae of Aspergillus fumigatus; and from yeast form...

The Role of Ceramide Synthases in the Pathogenicity of Cryptococcus neoformans

Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans) is estimated to cause about 220,000 new cases every year in patients with AIDS, despite advances in antifungal treatments. C. neoformans possesses a remarkable ability to disseminate through an immunocompromised host, making treatment difficult. Here, we examine the mechanism of survival of C. neoformans under varying host conditions and find a role for c...

Surface Localization of Glucosylceramide during Cryptococcus neoformans Infection Allows Targeting as a Potential Antifungal

Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) is a significant human pathogen that, despite current treatments, continues to have a high morbidity rate especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The need for more tolerable and specific therapies has been clearly shown. In the search for novel drug targets, the gene for glucosylceramide synthase (GCS1) was deleted in Cn, resulting in a strain (Δgcs1) that does not produc...