title: Serotyping of 467 Cryptococcus neoformans isolates from clinical and environmental sources in Brazil: analysis of host and regional patterns.
abstract: Cryptococcus neoformans is an important zoopathogen, and it is one of the most prevalent lethal mycotic agents. Its polysaccharide capsule, synthesized in vivo and in vitro, is a virulence factor, contains predominantly glucuronoxylomannan, and is responsible for the antigenic differentiation of serotypes A, B, C, D, and AD. A total of 467 isolates of C. neoformans obtained from clinical and environmental sources from Brazilian regions were studied serologically by using the Crypto Check Iatron RM 304-K kit. Serotyping of the clinical isolates showed the following prevalences of the serotypes: A (77.95%), followed by B (18.2%), AD (1.3%), D (0.4%), C (0.2%), and untypeable (1.93%). The epidemiology of serotype A in the Brazilian southern and southeastern regions reproduces the picture observed worldwide. In contrast, serotype B was the most frequent agent of cryptococcosis in the northeastern region, occurring nearly equally in male and female healthy hosts. Among the isolates from environmental sources, serotypes A and B were found to occur in the hollows of tropical trees of the genera Cassia, Ficus, and MOQUILLEA: The few isolates from Eucalyptus camaldulensis debris were serotypes A and B and untypeable. Overall, no association with a specific host tree was identified for these serotypes, denoting a distinct ecoepidemiological regional pattern. The one serotype C isolate was recovered from a human immunodeficiency virus-negative host. Serotype AD predominated over serotype D among both clinical and environmental isolates.
authors.affiliation: Fungal Section, National Institute for Quality Control in Health, INCQS/FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. marilia@alpha.incqs.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Marília M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: Márcia S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lazera
authors.forename: Glaucia G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trilles
authors.forename: Beatriz R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Balassiano
authors.forename: Regina C L
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Macedo
authors.forename: Cláudia C F
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Maurício A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cardarelli
authors.forename: Bodo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wanke
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D001938:Brazil; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000382:microbiology; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D012703:Serotyping; D012737:Sex Factors