In Egypt, the River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) is a well-known tree and is highly appreciated by the rural and urban dwellers. The role of Eucalyptus trees in the ecology of Cryptococcus neoformans is documented worldwide. The aim of this survey was to show the prevalence of C. neoformans during the flowering season of E. camaldulensis at the Delta region in Egypt. Three hundred and ele...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the rate of fluconazole-non-susceptible Cryptococcus neoformans in Southern Taiwan for the period 2001-2012 and analyze the risk factors for acquiring it among patients with invasive cryptococcosis. METHODS All enrolled strains were isolated from blood or cerebrospinal fluid samples of the included patients. If a patient had multiple positive results...

We found that the well-studied nematode Caenorhabditis elegans can use various yeasts, including Cryptococcus laurentii and Cryptococcus kuetzingii, as a sole source of food, producing similar brood sizes compared with growth on its usual laboratory food source Escherichia coli OP50. C. elegans grown on these yeasts had a life span similar to (C. laurentii) or longer than (C. kuetzingii) those ...

We have undertaken an analysis of the retrotransposons in the medically important basidiomycetous fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Using the data generated by a C. neoformans genome sequencing project at the Stanford Genome Technology Center, 15 distinct families of LTR retrotransposons and several families of non-LTR retrotransposons were identified. Members of at least seven families have tran...

The importance of T cell-mediated immunity for resistance to the disease (cryptococcal disease) caused by Cryptococcus neoformans is incontrovertible, but whether Ab immunity also contributes to resistance remains uncertain. To investigate the role of IgM in resistance to C. neoformans, we compared the survival, fungal burden, lung and brain inflammatory responses, and lung phagocytic response ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Cryptococcus neoformans infections are becoming increasingly prevalent and remain a life-threatening clinical issue in immune-compromised hosts. The microorganism evades a variety of endogenous anti-fungal mechanims of host immune cells. The signaling pathways in human immune cells that become activated in response to Cryptococcus neoformans infection have yet to be fully charac...

Received 19 November 2003 Revised 16 January 2004 Accepted 27 January 2004 Acetolactate synthase catalyses the first common step in isoleucine and valine biosynthesis and is the target of several classes of inhibitors. The Cryptococcus neoformans ILV2 gene, encoding acetolactate synthase, was identified by complementation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae ilv2 mutant. C. neoformans is highly resist...

Cryptococcus neoformans is a frequent opportunistic infectious agent in patients with decreased T-lymphocyte-mediated immune function, including those with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Cyclosporin A (CsA), a potent inhibitor of T-lymphocyte function, was administered subcutaneously to mice to study the pathogenesis of C. neoformans infections in the setting of impaired T-cell function. ...

The Cryptococcus neoformans MET3 cDNA (encoding ATP sulfurylase) was cloned by complementation of the corresponding met3 mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sequence analysis showed high similarity between the deduced amino acid sequence of the C. neoformans Met3p and other fungal ATP sulfurylases. A C. neoformans met3 mutant was made by targeted insertional mutagenesis, which had the expecte...

 The prevalence of cerebral meningitis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans in HIV-infected patients in Eastern Thailand is high. However, little is known about the occurrence of this pathogenic yeast in the environment of this region.  The aim of our study was to characterize the prevalence of C. neoformans, its serotypes and antifungal drug susceptibilities in environmental isolates from Chon Bu...