How does Cryptococcus get its coat?
During the past few decades, increasing attention has focused on pathogenic fungi both as fascinating research subjects and as the agents of serious illness in diverse patient populations. In particular, opportunistic fungi such as Cryptococcus neoformans command notice as the ranks of their immunocompromised victims grow. C. neoformans is unique among fungal pathogens for its major virulence factor, a complex polysaccharide capsule. In this article, our current understanding of the structure and biosynthesis of the capsule is reviewed, as are the many questions that remain to be answered about how Cryptococcus gets its coat.
Doering
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Dept of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus 8230, 660 South Euclid Ave, MO 63110, USA. doering@borcim.wustl.edu
D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
D011134:Polysaccharides