Mycology Reference Laboratory, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III Madrid, Spain.
Front Microbiol. 2011 Sep 6;2:181. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2011.00181. eCollection 2011.
Although morphological transitions (such as hyphae and pseudohyphae formation) are a common feature among fungi, the encapsulated pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans is found during infection as blastoconidia. However, this fungus exhibits striking variations in cellular structure and size, which have important consequences during infection. This review will summarize the main aspects related with phenotypic and morphological variations in C. neoformans, which can be divided in three classes. Two of them are related to changes in the capsule, while the third one involves changes in the whole cell. The three morphological and phenotypic variations in C. neoformans can be classified as: (1) changes in capsule structure, (2) changes in capsule size, and (3) changes in the total size of the cell, which can be achieved by the formation of cryptococcal giant/titan cells or microforms. These changes have profound consequences on the interaction with the host, involving survival, phagocytosis escape and immune evasion and dissemination. This article will summarize the main features of these changes, and highlight their importance during the interaction with the host and how they contribute to the development of the disease.
虽然形态转变（如菌丝和假菌丝的形成）是真菌的常见特征，但囊性病原体新生隐球菌在感染期间以芽生孢子的形式存在。然而，这种真菌在细胞结构和大小上表现出显著的变化，这在感染过程中具有重要的后果。本综述将总结与新生隐球菌表型和形态变化相关的主要方面，这些变化可分为三类。其中两类与荚膜变化有关，而第三类则涉及整个细胞的变化。新生隐球菌的三种形态和表型变化可分为：（1）荚膜结构的变化，（2）荚膜大小的变化，以及（3）细胞总大小的变化，这可以通过形成 cryptococcal giant/titan 细胞或微形态来实现。这些变化对与宿主的相互作用有深远的影响，包括存活、吞噬作用逃逸和免疫逃避以及传播。本文将总结这些变化的主要特征，并强调它们在与宿主相互作用中的重要性以及它们如何促进疾病的发展。
