The environmental isolation of Cryptococcus spp. is typically a difficult undertaking. Collecting samples in the field is costly in terms of travel, personnel time and materials. Furthermore, the recovery rate of Cryptococcus spp. may be very low, thereby requiring a large number of samples to be taken without any guarantee of success. Ecological niche modeling is a tool that has traditionally ...

Cryptococcus is a major fungal pathogen that frequently causes systemic infection in patients with compromised immunity. Glucose, an important signal molecule and the preferred carbon source for Cryptococcus, plays a critical role in fungal development and virulence. Cryptococcus contains more than 50 genes sharing high sequence homology with hexose transporters in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. How...

Species within the human pathogenic Cryptococcus species complex are major threats to public health, causing approximately 1 million annual infections globally. Cryptococcus amylolentus is the most closely known related species of the pathogenic Cryptococcus species complex, and it is non-pathogenic. Additionally, while pathogenic Cryptococcus species have bipolar mating systems with a single l...

Seven nonencapsulated mutants of Cryptococcus neoformans were isolated from an encapsulated strain of human origin. Initially, the mutants were avirulent for mice. After several months of subculturing, six of the seven isolates reverted LO the encapsulated state and possessed varying degrees of virulence. The results of these experiments suggest that a strong correlation exists between the pres...

A series of 2-(4-nitro-1-imidazolylmethyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole, 1,3,4-triazole and 3-(4-nitro-1-imidazolylmethyl)-1,2,4-triazole derivatives were synthesized and tested for their antimicrobial activity. Some of the tested compounds were active against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium difficile, Aspergillus niger and Cryptococcus neoformans.

Cryptococcosis by the encapsulated yeast Cryptococcus neoformans affects mostly immunocompromised individuals and is a frequent neurological complication in AIDS patients. Recent studies support the idea that intracellular survival of Cryptococcus yeast cells is important for the pathogenesis of cryptococcosis. However, the initial steps of Cryptococcus internalization by host cells remain poor...

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen and the causative agent of the disease cryptococcosis. Cryptococcosis is initiated as a pulmonary infection and in conditions of immune deficiency disseminates to the blood stream and central nervous system, resulting in life-threatening meningoencephalitis. A number of studies have focused on the development of a vaccine against Crypt...

Cryptococcus species, the etiological agents of cryptococcosis, are encapsulated fungal yeasts that predominantly cause disease in immunocompromised individuals, and are responsible for 15% of AIDS-related deaths worldwide. Exposure follows the inhalation of the yeast into the lung alveoli, making it incumbent upon the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) of pulmonary phagocytes to recognize hi...

Cryptococcosis is known as a central nervous system infection which is caused by Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans). The contamination is made by inhaling the fungi, then it produces the first lesion in the lung tissue. This phase is non symptomatic. In debilitated people, the infection disseminates and affects the meninges. The AIDS patients are the most affected group, and the disseminat...