The Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complex is a group of fungal pathogens with different phenotypic and genotypic diversity that cause disease in immunocompromised patients as well as in healthy individuals. The immune response resulting from the interaction between Cryptococcus and the host immune system is a key determinant of the disease outcome. The species C. neoforman...

conclusions chronic meningitis in immunocompromised hosts can be due to more than one pathologic etiology and we should do all diagnostic evaluation to rule out all possible differential diagnosis. introduction cryptococcal meningitis is a rare disorder that is caused by cryptococcus neoformans in immunocompromised host. case presentation the case was a 64-year-old man with a history of stem ce...

the ‘machine level’ language of life is and remains chemistry. We have to preserve our fluency in chemistry in the pursuit of our long-term dream of understanding biology and of curing disease. We need good chemical gear to avoid that the study of phenotypes remains an exercise of cartography at low-resolution. If potential targets for cures are identified, we need to remember that we cannot re...

Soil, snow and organic material, collected in November 1997 from the Vestvold Hills, Davis Base, Antarctica, were screened for yeasts. Two isolates, which were shown to be indistinguishable by rDNA sequencing and protein analysis by SDS-PAGE, are described in this communication as a novel species, Cryptococcus watticus sp. nov. (type culture, CBS 9496T=NRRL Y-27556T). Sequence analyses of the 2...

Cryptococcus has emerged as a significant pathogen in immunocompromised patients. While the diagnostic testing and the antifungal treatment of cryptococcal infections have become firmly established in clinical practice, new developments and areas of ambiguity merit further consideration. These include the potential for donor transmission of Cryptococcus; cirrhosis-associated cryptococcosis, par...

Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are important agents of meningoencephalitis in humans in the city of Belém. This clinical data suggests that the region may be a highly endemic area for the pathogenic Cryptococcus species within the state of Pará (PA), Northern Brazil. Preliminary analysis of 11 environmental samples from the city of Belém showed two positive locations, including...

Cryptococcus species are the causative agents of cryptococcal meningitis, a significant source of mortality in immunocompromised individuals. Initial work on the molecular epidemiology of this fungal pathogen utilized genotyping approaches to describe the genetic diversity and biogeography of two species, Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. Whole genome sequencing of representative...