title: Pathobiology of Pneumocystis pneumonia: life cycle, cell wall and cell signal transduction.
abstract: Pneumocystis is a genus of ascomycetous fungi that are highly morbid pathogens in immunosuppressed humans and other mammals. Pneumocystis cannot easily be propagated in culture, which has greatly hindered understanding of its pathobiology. The Pneumocystis life cycle is intimately associated with its mammalian host lung environment, and life cycle progression is dependent on complex interactions with host alveolar epithelial cells and the extracellular matrix. The Pneumocystis cell wall is a varied and dynamic structure containing a dominant major surface glycoprotein, β-glucans and chitins that are important for evasion of host defenses and stimulation of the host immune system. Understanding of Pneumocystis cell signaling pathways is incomplete, but much has been deduced by comparison of the Pneumocystis genome with homologous genes and proteins in related fungi. In this mini-review, the pathobiology of Pneumocystis is reviewed, with particular focus on the life cycle, cell wall components and cell signal transduction.
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Diseases Research Unit, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Skalski
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Diseases Research Unit, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Theodore J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kottom
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Diseases Research Unit, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA limper.andrew@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Limper
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D011010:Pneumocystis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
keywords: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); cell signaling; cell wall; life cycle; opportunistic infection