Cryptococcus Neoformans

BackgroundThe organism C neoformans is an encapsulated yeast; its environmental niche has not been completely defined, although outbreaks of disease have been associated in particular with pigeon roosts and other large contaminated sites. There are two varieties of C neoformans, distinguished by antigenic differences in the outer capsule of the organism: serotypes A and D (C neoformans var neoformans, the most common strain) and serotypes B and C (C neoformans var gatti). Cryptococcus neoformans var …

…to phagocytic cells. With increased incubation times, the number of yeast cells per phagocytic cell increased for the encapsulated, but not the acapsular strain. Conclusion: intracellular localization has been associated with both control and persistence of infection The results demonstrated that intracellular residence was associated with multiple yeast cells per phagosome, a higher budding index, and the emergence of a yeast cellpopulation that was heterogeneous in size. This is indicative of intracellular replication in vivo.