The propagules of the fungal species Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii, whose varieties are distributed world wide, are the primary cause of cryptococcosis, a life threatening disease. The study of environmental and clinical isolates of Cryptococcosis is an important contribution to the epidemiology and ecology of the fungus. The aim of this work was to determine the presence of C. neoforma...

BACKGROUND Both Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii have been isolated from a variety of environmental sources in Colombia. AIM To determine the viability of C. neoformans/C. gattii isolates in stored soil samples, filtrates and bird droppings from which these yeasts were previously recovered. METHODS A total of 964 samples collected between 2003 and 2009, and kept at room tempe...

Nonprotective immune responses to highly virulent Cryptococcus neoformans strains, such as H99, are associated with Th2-type cytokine production, alternatively activated macrophages, and inability of the host to clear the fungus. In contrast, experimental studies show that protective immune responses against cryptococcosis are associated with Th1-type cytokine production and classical macrophag...

Infections by intracellular pathogens cause significant morbidity and mortality due to lack of efficient drug delivery. Amphotericin B, currently used treat leishmaniasis cryptococcosis, is very toxic cannot eradicate Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans). Glycosylated gold nanoparticles are water dispersible biocompatible with little toxicity. While amphotericin B insoluble in at neutral pH,...

Melanin production is one of the most important criteria for rapid identification of Cryptococcus neoformans. Most of the media described in the literature for identifying C. neoformans are very complex; they contain many organic or inorganic compounds and are difficult to prepare and store. The new minimal synthetic caffeic acid medium described in this paper is simpler to prepare, convenient ...

We report a case of fungemia and disseminated disease caused by a urease-negative strain of Cryptococcus neoformans in a patient with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Except for failure to hydrolyze urea, the microbiological characteristics of the isolate were typical of C. neoformans. Laboratory specialists should be aware of the occurrence of atypical strains of C. neoformans, particu...

Cryptococcus neoformans is a human fungal pathogen that exists as three distinct varieties or sibling species: the predominantly opportunistic pathogens C. neoformans var. neoformans (serotype D) and C. neoformans var. grubii (serotype A) and the primary pathogen C. neoformans var. gattii (serotypes B and C). While serotypes A and D are cosmopolitan, serotypes B and C are typically restricted t...

Cryptococcus neoformans serotypes A and D are responsible for the overwhelming majority of infections in patients with AIDS. The genetic relationship between the serotypes is poorly understood, but there are significant differences in the epidemiology and clinical presentation of serotype A and D infections. We evaluated the genetic relationship between reference C. neoformans strains belonging...

In conventional DNA fingerprinting, hypervariable and repetitive sequences (minisatellite or microsatellite DNA) are detected with hybridization probes. As demonstrated here, these probes can be used as single primers in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to generate individual fingerprints. Several conventional DNA fingerprinting probes were used to prime the PCR, yielding distinctive, hyperv...

In eukaryotic cells, the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway plays a crucial role in cellular homeostasis of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during exposure to diverse environmental conditions that cause ER stress. Here we report that the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans has evolved a unique UPR pathway composed of an evolutionarily conserved Ire1 protein kinase and a novel bZIP...