title: New weapons in the Cryptococcus infection toolkit.
abstract: The global burden of fungal infections is unacceptably high. The human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans causes cryptococcosis and accounts for a significant proportion of this burden. Cryptococci undergo a number of elaborate interactions with their hosts, including survival and proliferation within phagocytes as well as dissemination to the central nervous system and other tissues. In this review we highlight a number of exciting recent advances in the field of cryptococcal biology. In particular we discuss new insights into cryptococcal morphology and its impact on virulence, as well as describing novel findings revealing how cryptoccoci may 'talk' to each other.
authors: Institute of Microbiology and Infection and School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
authors: Leanne M
authors: LM
authors: Taylor-Smith
authors: Institute of Microbiology and Infection and School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Electronic address: r.c.may@bham.ac.uk.
authors: Robin C
authors: RC
authors: May
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000382:microbiology; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D010586:Phagocytes / Q000382:microbiology; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors