In order to ascertain if Cryptococcus neoformans components can induce interleukin-6 (IL-6) production, we stimulated human whole blood with purified capsular products. Their potencies in stimulating IL-6 release were mannoproteins > galactoxylomannan = glucuronoxylomannan > alpha(1-3)glucan. IL-6 production was tumor necrosis factor alpha independent and required the presence of monocytes and ...

The N-linked oligosaccharides from baker's yeast carboxypeptidase Y were analyzed by 1H NMR and specific mannosidase digestion and found to be identical to those from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mnn9 mutant bulk mannoprotein. The results support the view that the mnn mutants make oligosaccharides that are a true reflection of the normal biosynthetic pathway and confirm that a recently revised ...

Extension of a reporter protein with the carboxyterminal thirty amino acids of the cell wall mannoprotein alpha-agglutinin of Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in incorporation of the chimeric protein in the cell wall. By Western analysis it was shown that the incorporated protein contained beta-1,6-glucan similar to endogenous cell wall proteins, whereas excreted reporter protein was not gluco...

In haploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the mating and invasive growth (IG) pathways use the same mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKKK, Ste20), MAPKKK (Ste11), MAPKK (Ste7), and transcription factor (Ste12) to promote either G(1) arrest and fusion or foraging in response to distinct stimuli. This exquisite specificity is the result of pathway-specific receptors, G protein...

We have previously reported the development of a novel genotoxic testing system based on the transcriptional response of the yeast RNR3-lacZ reporter gene to DNA damage. This system appears to be more sensitive than other similar tests in microorganisms, and is comparable with the Ames test. In an effort to further enhance detection sensitivity, we examined the effects of altering major cell wa...

Presently almost no information is available on the oligosaccharide structure of the glycoproteins secreted from the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha, a promising host for the production of recombinant proteins. In this study, we analyze the size distribution and structure of N-linked oligosaccharides attached to the recombinant glycoprotein glucose oxidase (GOD) and the cell wall mann...

The cell wall is essential to nearly every aspect of the biology and pathogenicity of Candida albicans. Although it was initially considered an almost inert cellular structure that protected the protoplast against osmotic offense, more recent studies have demonstrated that it is a dynamic organelle. The major components of the cell wall are glucan and chitin, which are associated with structura...