title: Comparative Analysis of Extracellular Polymeric Substances from Cryptococcus gattii VGIIa Strain Isolated for the First Time in Japan.
abstract: Cryptococcus gattii and C. neoformans are pathogenic yeasts that cause meningoencephalitis. C. gattii has four molecular types: VGI, VGII, VGIII, and VGIV. Furthermore, three genotypes have been reported for VGII, and a high pathogenicity of the VGIIa genotype has been proposed. The VGIIa strain has been isolated from a patient in Japan, but little is known about the characteristics of the polysaccharides in this strain. In this study we examined the induction of interleukin-8（IL-8）transcriptional activation and compared the nuclear magnetic resonance（NMR）spectra of extracellular polymeric substances（EPSs）, mainly polysaccharides, from the VGIIa, VGIIb, and VGIIc genotypes. The induction of IL-8 by C. gattii EPSs was weaker than that by C. neoformans EPSs. The anomeric proton signals in the NMR spectra of EPSs obtained from VGII isolates were similar, and the polysaccharides were mainly mannose, xylose, galactose, and glucuronic acid. These results suggest that the extracellular polysaccharides from the VGIIa strain isolated in Japan are almost the same as those from other VGII strains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Science and Host Defense, Meiji Pharmaceutical University.
authors.forename: Tomoe
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Otomi
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugita
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ikeda
mesh_terms: D056285:Cryptococcus gattii / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000378:metabolism; D007564:Japan; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D011108:Polymers; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: C508606:CXCL8 protein, human; D016209:Interleukin-8; D011108:Polymers; D011134:Polysaccharides