ArticleInfection and immunity2006
Phenotypic switching in a Cryptococcus neoformans variety gattii strain is associated with changes in virulence and promotes dissemination to the central nervous system.
Article in Infection and immunity, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Preclinical Models for Cryptococcosis of the CNS and Their Characterization Using In Vivo Imaging Techniques.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Non-self glycan structures as possible modulators of cancer progression: would polysaccharides from Cryptococcus spp. impact this phenomenon?Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2023Review
- ALL2, a Homologue of ALL1, Has a Distinct Role in Regulating pH Homeostasis in the Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.Infection and immunity · 2016Article
- Magnesium Ion Acts as a Signal for Capsule Induction in Cryptococcus neoformans.Frontiers in microbiology · 2016Article
- Aging as an emergent factor that contributes to phenotypic variation in Cryptococcus neoformans.Fungal genetics and biology : FG & B · 2015Review
- Pattern recognition receptors in antifungal immunity.Seminars in immunopathology · 2015Review
- Aging: an emergent phenotypic trait that contributes to the virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans.Future microbiology · 2015Article
- Article
- Correlation of the in vitro antifungal drug susceptibility with the in vivo activity of fluconazole in a murine model of cerebral infection caused by Cryptococcus gattii.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2010Article
- Cryptococcal interactions with the host immune system.Eukaryotic cell · 2010Review
- Variability of phenotypic traits in Cryptococcus varieties and species and the resulting implications for pathogenesis.Future microbiology · 2010Review
- Antigenic and phenotypic variations in fungi.Cellular microbiology · 2009Review
- Isolation and characterization of senescent Cryptococcus neoformans and implications for phenotypic switching and pathogenesis in chronic cryptococcosis.Eukaryotic cell · 2009Article
- The capsule of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.Advances in applied microbiology · 2009Review
- Cryptococcus gattii: An Emerging Cause of Fungal Disease in North America.Interdisciplinary perspectives on infectious diseases · 2009Article
- Loss of allergen 1 confers a hypervirulent phenotype that resembles mucoid switch variants of Cryptococcus neoformans.Infection and immunity · 2009Article
- Cryptococcus gattii with bimorphic colony types in a dog in western Oregon: additional evidence for expansion of the Vancouver Island outbreak.Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc · 2009Article
- Phenotypic switching of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii.Mycopathologia · 2008Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
This is the first report of a Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii strain (serotype B) that switches reversibly between its parent mucoid (NP1-MC) colony morphology and a smooth (NP1-SM) colony morphology. Similar to C. neoformans var. grubii and C. neoformans var. neoformans strains, the switch is associated with changes in the polysaccharide capsule and virulence in animal models. In murine infection models, NP1-MC is significantly more virulent than NP1-SM (P < 0.021). In contrast to the serotype A and D strains, the serotype B strain switches in vivo reversibly between both colony morphologies. The polysaccharide of NP1-MC exhibits a thicker capsule, and thus NP1-MC exhibits enhanced intracellular survival in macrophages. Consistent with this finding, switching to the mucoid variant is observed in pulmonary infection with NP1-SM. In contrast, the thin polysaccharide capsule of NP1-SM permits better crossing of the blood-brain barrier. In this regard, only smooth colonies were grown from brain homogenates of NP1-MC-infected mice. Our findings have important implications for the pathogenesis of cryptococcosis and suggest that phenotypic switching affects host-pathogen interactions in the local microenvironment. This altered interaction then selects for specific colony variants to arise in a pathogen population.
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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.