ArticleThe Journal of clinical investigation2001
Phenotypic switching of Cryptococcus neoformans occurs in vivo and influences the outcome of infection.
Article in The Journal of clinical investigation, 2001. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 107 citations in OpenAlex.
- Insights on molecular drivers of phenotypic plasticity in Candidozyma auris.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2026Review
- Pathogenicity and virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans from an environmental perspective.Virulence · 2025Review
- The impact of phenotypic heterogeneity on fungal pathogenicity and drug resistance.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- In Vitro Titan Cell Generation in Cryptococcus neoformans and Automated Cell Size Measurements.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2024Article
- Similar evolutionary trajectories in an environmentalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- An in vitro method for inducing titan cells reveals novel features of yeast-to-titan switching in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus gattii.PLoS pathogens · 2022Article
- Phenotypic Plasticity in the Productions of Virulence Factors Within and Among Serotypes in the Cryptococcus neoformans Species Complex.Mycopathologia · 2022Article
- Review
- Ultrastructural Study ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- The interplay of phenotype and genotype in Cryptococcus neoformans disease.Bioscience reports · 2020Review
- Serial Passage ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Advances in Fungal Peptide Vaccines.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Dormancy in Cryptococcus neoformans: 60 years of accumulating evidence.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2020Review
- If looks could kill: Fungal macroscopic morphology and virulence.PLoS pathogens · 2020Review
- Clonal Dispersal ofJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
- A Glucuronoxylomannan Epitope Exhibits Serotype-Specific Accessibility and Redistributes towards the Capsule Surface during Titanization of the Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.Infection and immunity · 2019Article
- Cryptococcal Traits Mediating Adherence to Biotic and Abiotic Surfaces.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Review
- Differences in Sirtuin Regulation in Response to Calorie Restriction in Cryptococcus neoformans.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Article
- Nutritional Requirements and Their Importance for Virulence of Pathogenic Cryptococcus Species.Microorganisms · 2017Review
- Sirtuins in the phylum Basidiomycota: A role in virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans.Scientific reports · 2017Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Phenotypic switching has been linked to the virulence of many pathogens, including fungi. However, it has not been conclusively shown to occur in vivo or to influence the outcome of infection. Cryptococcus neoformans undergoes phenotypic switching in vitro to colony types that differ in their virulence in mice. In this study, we asked whether C. neoformans undergoes phenotypic switching in vivo and whether this phenomenon contributes to virulence. By using a small inoculum to preclude the introduction of variants that had already switched during in vitro propagation, we demonstrated that in vivo switching to a mucoid phenotype occurred in two mice strains and was associated with a lethal outcome. Phenotypic switching resulted in changes of the capsular polysaccharide that inhibited phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages. This promoted a more vigorous inflammatory response and rapid demise. These data document in vivo switching in a fungus and associate this phenomenon with enhanced virulence and a lethal outcome. The importance of this finding is underscored by the increased likelihood of phenotypic switching in chronic cryptococcosis; thus this mechanism may account for the inability to eradicate the organism in immunocompromised hosts.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.