Efficacy of Liposomal Nystatin in a Rabbit Model of Cryptococcal Meningitis.

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) causes significant global morbidity and mortality. Current therapeutic strategies rely on deoxycholated or liposomal forms of the polyene amphotericin B. Nystatin is also a polyene with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

Integration of genomic and pharmacokinetic data to predict clinical outcomes in HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis.

Unlabelled: Cryptococcal meningitis causes an estimated 112,000 global deaths per annum. Genomic and phenotypic features of the infecting strain of spp. have been associated with outcomes from cryptococcal meningitis.

Structures of trehalose-6-phosphate synthase, Tps1, from the fungal pathogen : A target for antifungals.

Invasive fungal diseases are a major threat to human health, resulting in more than 1.5 million annual deaths worldwide. The arsenal of antifungal therapeutics remains limited and is in dire need of drugs that target additional biosynthetic pathways that are absent from humans.

trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (tps1) promotes organ-specific virulence and fungal protection against multiple lines of host defenses.

Trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS1) was identified as a virulence factor for and a promising therapeutic target. This study reveals previously unknown roles of TPS1 in evasion of host defenses during pulmonary and disseminated phases of infection. In the pulmonary infection model, TPS1-deleted () are rapidly cleared by mouse lungs whereas TPS1-sufficent WT (H99) and revertant (:) strains expand in the lungs and disseminate, causing 100% mortality.

Biolistic Transformation of Cryptococcus neoformans.

Biolistic transformation of Cryptococcus neoformans is used as a molecular tool to genetically alter or delete targeted genes. The DNA is introduced into the yeast on DNA-coated gold beads by a helium shock wave produced using a biolistic particle system. The procedure often involves insertion of a dominant selectable marker into the desired site by homologous recombination.