Cryptococcus neoformans induces antimicrobial responses and behaves as a facultative intracellular pathogen in the non mammalian model Galleria mellonella

Autor(es)

Trevijano-Contador, Nuria ^[1] ; Herrero-Fernandez, Ines ^[1] ; Garcia-Barbazan, Irene ^[1] ; Scorzoni, Liliana ^{[1, 2]} ; Rueda, Cristina ^[1] ; Andreia Rossi, Suelen ^{[1, 2]} ; Garcia-Rodas, Rocio ^[1] ; Zaragoza, Oscar ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Inst Salud Carlos III, Natl Ctr Microbiol, Mycol Reference Lab, Madrid 28220 - Spain

^[2] Fac Ciencias Farmaceut, Lab Micol Clin, BR-14801902 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: VIRULENCE; v. 6, n. 1, p. 66-74, JAN 2015.
• Citações Web of Science: 18

Resumo

Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated opportunistic fungal pathogen that is found in multiple niches in the environment and that can cause fatal meningoencephalitis in susceptible patients, mainly HIV+ individuals. Cryptococcus also infects environmental hosts such as nematodes, insects and plants. In particular, C. neoformans can kill the lepidopteran Galleria mellonella, which offers a useful tool to study microbial virulence and drug efficacy. Galleria mellonella immunity relies on innate responses based on melanization, accumulation of antimicrobial peptides, and cellular responses as phagocytosis or multicellular encapsulation. In this work we have investigated the immune response of G. mellonella during cryptococcal infection. We found that G. mellonella infected with C. neoformans had a high lytic activity in their hemolymph. This response was temperature- and capsule-dependent. During interaction with phagocytic cells, C. neoformans behaved as an intracellular pathogen since it could replicate within hemocytes. Non-lytic events were also observed. In contrast to Candida species, C. neoformans did not induce melanization of G. mellonella after infection. Finally, passage of C. neoformans through G. mellonella resulted in changes in capsule structure as it has been also reported during infection in mammals. Our results highlight that G. mellonella is an optimal model to investigate innate immune responses against C. neoformans. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 13/10917-9 - Modelos animais alternativos: Virulência de diferentes espécies filogenéticas de Paracoccidioides e efeito das proteínas 43kDa e 30kDa e de seus anticorpos
• Beneficiário: Liliana Scorzoni
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado