title: Expanding fungal pathogenesis: Cryptococcus breaks out of the opportunistic box.
abstract: Cryptococcus neoformans is generally considered to be an opportunistic fungal pathogen because of its tendency to infect immunocompromised individuals, particularly those infected with HIV. However, this view has been challenged by the recent discovery of specialized interactions between the fungus and its mammalian hosts, and by the emergence of the related species Cryptococcus gattii as a primary pathogen of immunocompetent populations. In this Review, we highlight features of cryptococcal pathogens that reveal their adaptation to the mammalian environment. These features include not only remarkably sophisticated interactions with phagocytic cells to promote intracellular survival, dissemination to the central nervous system and escape, but also surprising morphological and genomic adaptations such as the formation of polyploid giant cells in the lung.
authors.affiliation: The Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada. kronstad@interchange.ubc.ca
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kronstad
authors.forename: Rodgoun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Attarian
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cadieux
authors.forename: Jaehyuk
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Cletus A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: D'Souza
authors.forename: Emma J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Jennifer M H
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Geddes
authors.forename: Guanggan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Won Hee
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kretschmer
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saikia
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000382:microbiology; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D003454:Cryptococcus / Q000166:cytology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014774:Virulence