title: Aimless mutants of Cryptococcus neoformans: failure to disseminate.
abstract: The pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans exhibits a striking propensity to cause central nervous system (CNS) disease in people with HIV/AIDS. Given that cryptococcal infections are generally initiated by pulmonary colonization, dissemination requires that the fungus withstand phagocytic killing, cross the alveolar-capillary interface in the lung, survive in the circulatory system and breach the blood-brain barrier. We know little about the molecular mechanisms underlying dissemination, but there is a rapidly growing list of mutants that fail to cause CNS disease. These mutants reveal a remarkable diversity of functions and therefore illustrate the complexity of the cryptococcal-host interaction. The challenge now is to extend the analysis of these mutants to acquire a detailed understanding of each step in dissemination.
authors.affiliation: The Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kretschmer
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kronstad