Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Effect of Inoculum Size and Culture Age on the Cellular Properties and Host-Pathogen Interactions of Cryptococcus neoformans

Khi Khi Choo, Pei Pei Chong, Anthony Siong Hock Ho, Phelim Voon Chen Yong

Microbiology Research Journal International · pp. 100–108 · Published 13 Mar 2015

10.9734/BMRJ/2015/16464

Abstract

Aims: Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungal pathogen which infection caused devastating morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. The present study investigated the effect of culture starting inoculum size and culture age towards cellular properties of C. neoformans and its interactions with mammalian host alveolar epithelial cells. Methodology: C. neoformans H99 was cultured at different starting inoculum sizes and collected at varied culture ages to examine the morphology of the yeast cells and agar invasion property. The interaction with host alveolar epithelial cells was assessed in vitro using A549 cells as the host cell model. Results: Visual observation demonstrated that cryptococci cultured with higher starting inoculum sizes and longer incubation periods displayed flocculation properties, aberrant morphologies with lysed cell structure attached to intact yeast cells, release of capsule material to the culture medium, as well as changes in FITC staining of cell surface proteins. The changes in cryptococcal cellular morphology did not affect agar invasion, as the encapsulated cryptococci did not invade agar under all conditions tested. Lysed cell material on cryptococcal cells adhered to host alveolar epithelial cells, which induced localised actin reorganisation at the host-pathogen interface. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the differences in starting inoculum size and culture age of C. neoformans H99 resulted in yeast cells with distinctive morphologies, which affected he pathogen’s association with host alveolar epithelial cells.

Culture age starting inoculums agar invasion capsule adherence actin

References (26)

  1. 1 Estimation of the current global burden of cryptococcal meningitis among persons living with HIV/AIDS [DOI]
  2. 2 Cryptococcosis in the era of AIDS--100 years after the discovery of Cryptococcus neoformans [DOI]
  3. 3 Cryptococcosis in the era of AIDS 100 years after the discovery of Cryptococcus neoformans [DOI]
  4. 4 Cellular invasion byStaphylococcus aureusreveals a functional link between focal adhesion kinase and cortactin in integrin-mediated internalisation [DOI]
  5. 5 Unusual morphologies of Cryptococcus spp. in tissue specimens: report of 10 cases [DOI]
  6. 6 A role for cofilin and LIM kinase inListeria-induced phagocytosis [DOI]
  7. 7 The invasin protein of Yersinia enterocolitica: internalization of invasin-bearing bacteria by eukaryotic cells is associated with reorganization of the cytoskeleton. [DOI]
  8. 8 Bacteria-Host-Cell Interactions at the Plasma Membrane: Stories on Actin Cytoskeleton Subversion [DOI]
  9. 9 Tissue localization of Cryptococcus neoformans glucuronoxylomannan in the presence and absence of specific antibody [DOI]
  10. 10 Cryptococci at the brain gate: break and enter or use a Trojan horse? [DOI]
  11. 11 Phospholipase B activity enhances adhesion of Cryptococcus neoformans to a human lung epithelial cell line [DOI]
  12. 12 Cryptococcal lung disease [DOI]
  13. 13 Glucuronoxylomannan-mediated interaction of Cryptococcus neoformans with human alveolar cells results in fungal internalization and host cell damage [DOI]
  14. 14 Microbiological characteristics of clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans in Taiwan: serotypes, mating types, molecular types, virulence factors, and antifungal susceptibility [DOI]
  15. 15 Adherence to and damage of endothelial cells by Cryptococcus neoformans in vitro: role of the capsule [DOI]
  16. 16 Cryptococcus neoformans induces IL-8 secretion and CXCL1 expression by human bronchial epithelial cells [DOI]
  17. 17 Cryptococcal Meningitis: Current Approaches to Management in Patients With and Without AIDS [DOI]
  18. 18 A rapid analytical technique for flow cytometric analysis of cell viability using calcofluor white M2R [DOI]
  19. 19 High affinity binding of fluorescein isothiocyanate to eosinophils detected by laser scanning cytometry: A potential source of error in analysis of blood samples utilizing fluorescein-conjugated reagents in flow cytometry [DOI]
  20. 20 The in vitro interaction of Cryptococcus neoformans with human lung epithelial cells [DOI]
  21. 21 Pathogen‐induced actin filament rearrangement in infectious diseases [DOI]
  22. 22 The interaction ofCryptococcus neoformanswith primary rat lung cell cultures [DOI]
  23. 23 Glucose- and K+-induced acidification in different yeast species [DOI]
  24. 24 Secondary cell wall formation in Cryptococcus neoformans as a rescue mechanism against acid-induced autolysis [DOI]
  25. 25 Different sources of acidity in glucose‐elicited extracellular acidification in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae [DOI]
  26. 26 The Capsule of the Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans Paradoxically Inhibits Invasive Growth [DOI]

Cited by 2

In Vitro Analysis of Metabolites Secreted during Infection of Lung Epithelial Cells by Cryptococcus neoformans

Kah Leong Liew, J. Jee, I. Yap · PLoS ONE · 2016

Showing 1 of 2 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

65

Page views

0

PDF downloads

15

Outbound clicks

2

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.