Godoy Juliana, Avellar-Moura Igor, Soares Juliana, Pontes Bruno, Frases Susana
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Laboratório de Biofísica de Fungos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas & Centro Nacional de Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem, Laboratório de Pinças Ópticas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2025 Jun 27;120:e240286. doi: 10.1590/0074-02760240286. eCollection 2025.
Titan cells in Cryptococcus species play a critical role in fungal virulence by resisting oxidative stress, phagocytosis, and antifungal treatments. Developing reliable methods to induce titan cells is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of Cryptococcus pathogenesis.
In this study we report an unexpected discovery of a simple in vitro induction of titan cells in Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii using Neurobasal™ (NB) medium.
By employing established in vitro culture methods, we demonstrate a significantly higher capacity for titan cell formation in Cryptococcus spp. Cells grown in complete NB medium exhibited larger cell bodies, increased capsule sizes, and a higher percentage of titan cells compared to those grown in minimal medium (MM). NB medium without the B27 supplement significantly impacted titan cell formation.
Our findings indicate that NB medium, originally developed for neuronal cell cultures, is a useful tool for studying titan cell biology. This is particularly relevant given the association between titan cells and the central nervous system, highlighting their potential role in Cryptococcus pathogenesis.
隐球菌属中的巨细胞通过抵抗氧化应激、吞噬作用和抗真菌治疗，在真菌毒力中发挥关键作用。开发可靠的方法来诱导巨细胞对于理解隐球菌致病机制至关重要。
在本研究中，我们报告一项意外发现，即使用Neurobasal™（NB）培养基可在新型隐球菌和格特隐球菌中简单地体外诱导巨细胞。
通过采用既定的体外培养方法，我们证明隐球菌属中巨细胞形成能力显著更高。与在基本培养基（MM）中生长的细胞相比，在完全NB培养基中生长的细胞表现出更大的细胞体、更大的荚膜尺寸以及更高比例的巨细胞。不含B27补充剂的NB培养基显著影响巨细胞形成。
我们的研究结果表明，最初为神经元细胞培养而开发的NB培养基是研究巨细胞生物学的有用工具。鉴于巨细胞与中枢神经系统之间的关联，这一点尤为重要，突出了它们在隐球菌致病机制中的潜在作用。
