title: The impact of proteomics on the understanding of functions and biogenesis of fungal extracellular vesicles.
abstract: Several microbial molecules are released to the extracellular space in vesicle-like structures. In pathogenic fungi, these molecules include pigments, polysaccharides, lipids, and proteins, which traverse the cell wall in vesicles that accumulate in the extracellular space. The diverse composition of fungal extracellular vesicles (EV) is indicative of multiple mechanisms of cellular biogenesis, a hypothesis that was supported by EV proteomic studies in a set of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with defects in both conventional and unconventional secretory pathways. In the human pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum, and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, extracellular vesicle proteomics revealed the presence of proteins with both immunological and pathogenic activities. In fact, fungal EV have been demonstrated to interfere with the activity of immune effector cells and to increase fungal pathogenesis. In this review, we discuss the impact of proteomics on the understanding of functions and biogenesis of fungal EV, as well as the potential role of these structures in fungal pathogenesis. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Trends in Microbial Proteomics.
authors.affiliation: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz - Fiocruz, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde (CDTS), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Instituto de Microbiologia Professor Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address: marciolr@cdts.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Marcio L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA; Biological Science Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Ernesto S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Nakayasu
authors.affiliation: The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Igor C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Microbiologia Professor Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nimrichter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D003904:Mitosporic Fungi / Q000378:metabolism*; D009181:Mycoses / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins
keywords: Extracellular vesicles; Pathogenic fungi; Proteomics