Selective involvement of the brain in experimental murine cryptococcosis. I. Microbiological observations.

During the course of infection in intraperitoneally infected white mice with a particular strain of Cryptococcus neoformans, it was possible to observe a time-limited and selective presence of the fungus in the brain. The presence of the fungus in the brain without causing clinical symptoms and the rare mortal exacerbation of the brain involvement offers possibilities for comparative studies of experimental and human cryptococcosis. On the basis of these strain-specific results new aspects of the virulence of C. neoformans and the epidemiology of cryptococcosis are discussed.