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Clinical Microbiology Reviews, Oct 1995, 515-548, Vol 8, No. 4
TG Mitchell and JR Perfect
Although Cryptococcus neoformans and cryptococcosis have existed for
several millennia, a century has passed since the discovery of this
encapsulated yeast and its devastating disease. With the advent of the AIDS
pandemic, cryptococcal meningitis has emerged as a leading cause of
infectious morbidity and mortality and a frequently life-threatening
opportunistic mycosis among patients with AIDS. Both basic and clinical
research have accelerated in the 1990s, and this review attempts to
highlight some of these advances. The discussion covers recent findings,
current concepts, controversies, and unresolved issues related to the
ecology and genetics of C. neoformans; the surface structure of the yeast;
and the mechanisms of host defense. Regarding cell-mediated immunity, CD4+
T cells are crucial for successful resistance, but CD8+ T cells may also
participate significantly in the cytokine-mediated activation of
anticryptococcal effector cells. In addition to cell-mediated immunity,
monoclonal antibodies to the major capsular polysaccharide, the
glucuronoxylomannan, offer some protection in murine models of
cryptococcosis. Clinical concepts are presented that relate to the
distinctive features of cryptococcosis in patients with AIDS and the
diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cryptococcosis in AIDS patients.
Copyright © 1995 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Cryptococcosis in the era of AIDS--100 years after the discovery of Cryptococcus neoformans
Department of Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
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