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Eukaryotic Cell, January 2009, p. 96-103, Vol. 8, No. 1
1535-9778/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00331-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Capsular Localization of the Cryptococcus neoformans Polysaccharide Component Galactoxylomannan{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Magdia De Jesus,1 André Moraes Nicola,1 Marcio L. Rodrigues,2 Guilhem Janbon,3 and Arturo Casadevall1*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461,1 Laboratório de Estudos Integrados em Bioquímica Microbiana, Instituto de Microbiologia Professor Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941590, Brazil,2 Institut Pasteur, Unité de Mycologie Moléculaire, CNRS, URA3012 F-75015 Paris, France3

Received 29 September 2008/ Accepted 14 October 2008

Cryptococcus neoformans capsular polysaccharide is composed of at least two components, glucuronoxylomannan (GXM) and galactoxylomannans (GalXM). Although GXM has been extensively studied, little is known about the location of GalXM in the C. neoformans capsule, in part because there are no serological reagents specific to this antigen. To circumvent the poor immunogenicity of GalXM, this antigen was conjugated to protective antigen from Bacillus anthracis as a protein carrier. The resulting conjugate elicited antibodies that reacted with GalXM in mice and yielded an immune serum that proved useful for studying GalXM in the polysaccharide capsule. In acapsular cells, immune serum localized GalXM to the cell wall. In capsulated cells, immune serum localized GalXM to discrete pockets near the capsule edge. GalXM was abundant on the nascent capsules of budding daughter cells. The constituent sugars of GalXM were found in vesicle fractions consistent with vesicular transport for this polysaccharide. In addition, we generated a single-chain fraction variable fragment antibody with specificity to oxidized carbohydrates that also produced punctate immunofluorescence on encapsulated cells that partially colocalized with GalXM. The results are interpreted to mean that GalXM is a transient component of the polysaccharide capsule of mature cells during the process of secretion. Hence, the function of GalXM appears to be more consistent with that of an exopolysaccharide than a structural component of the cryptococcal capsule.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Forchheimer, Bronx, NY 10461. Phone: (718) 430-3665. Fax: (718) 430-8701. E-mail: casadeva{at}aecom.yu.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 24 October 2008.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://ec.asm.org/.

Eukaryotic Cell, January 2009, p. 96-103, Vol. 8, No. 1
1535-9778/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00331-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • De Jesus, M., Nicola, A. M., Frases, S., Lee, I. R., Mieses, S., Casadevall, A. (2009). Galactoxylomannan-Mediated Immunological Paralysis Results from Specific B Cell Depletion in the Context of Widespread Immune System Damage. J. Immunol. 183: 3885-3894 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Abboud, N., De Jesus, M., Nakouzi, A., Cordero, R. J. B., Pujato, M., Fiser, A., Rivera, J., Casadevall, A. (2009). Identification of Linear Epitopes in Bacillus anthracis Protective Antigen Bound by Neutralizing Antibodies. J. Biol. Chem. 284: 25077-25086 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pericolini, E., Gabrielli, E., Cenci, E., De Jesus, M., Bistoni, F., Casadevall, A., Vecchiarelli, A. (2009). Involvement of Glycoreceptors in Galactoxylomannan-Induced T Cell Death. J. Immunol. 182: 6003-6010 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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