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Taxonomic group: fungi / Basidiomycota (Phylum: Basidiomycota)
Organ / tissue: capsule
Associated disease: infection due to Cryptococcus neoformans [ICD11: XN3EH

]

NCBI PubMed ID: 29648596
Publication DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwy030
Journal NLM ID: 9104124
Publisher: IRL Press at Oxford University Press
Correspondence: Doering TL <doering

wustl.edu>
Institutions: Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, USA

Fungal pathogens cause devastating infections in millions of individuals each year, representing a huge but underappreciated burden on human health. One of these, the opportunistic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, kills hundreds of thousands of patients annually, disproportionately affecting people in resource-limited areas. This yeast is distinguished from other pathogenic fungi by a polysaccharide capsule that is displayed on the cell surface. The capsule consists of two complex polysaccharide polymers: a mannan substituted with xylose and glucuronic acid, and a galactan with galactomannan side chains that bear variable amounts of glucuronic acid and xylose. The cell wall, with which the capsule is associated, is a matrix of alpha and beta glucans, chitin, chitosan, and mannoproteins. In this review, we focus on synthesis of the wall and capsule, both of which are critical for the ability of this microbe to cause disease and are distinct from structures found in either model yeasts or the mammals afflicted by this infection. Significant research effort over the last few decades has been applied to defining the synthetic machinery of these two structures, including nucleotide sugar metabolism and transport, glycosyltransferase activities, polysaccharide export, and assembly and association of structural elements. Discoveries in this area have elucidated fundamental biology and may lead to novel targets for antifungal therapy. In this review, we summarize the progress made in this challenging and fascinating area, and outline future research questions.

cell wall, capsule, Cryptococcus neoformans, Glucuronoxylomannan, glucuronoxylomannogalactan

Structure type: structural motif or average structure ; 1700000-7000000
Location inside paper: fig. 2(A), GMX
Compound class: glucuronoxylomannan
Contained glycoepitopes: IEDB_114701,IEDB_115136,IEDB_115576,IEDB_130701,IEDB_140116,IEDB_140630,IEDB_144983,IEDB_145668,IEDB_152206,IEDB_164174,IEDB_167188,IEDB_174332,IEDB_2270799,IEDB_423153,IEDB_76933,IEDB_983930,SB_197,SB_44,SB_67,SB_72

Biological activity: important for virulence as modulators of the host immune response, inhibiting immune rocgnition and activation; required for survival at host temperature and for efficient adhesion to endothelial cells
Biosynthesis and genetic data: biochemical data
Comments, role: review; accounts roughly 90% of the capsule mass

Related record ID(s): 49018
NCBI Taxonomy refs (TaxIDs): 5207
Reference(s) to other database(s): GTC:G39597XD
Show glycosyltransferases

There is only one chemically distinct structure:

*O[C@@H]1[C@H](O[C@@H]2O[C@H](C(=O)O)[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H]2O)[C@@H](O[C@H]2[C@H](O)[C@@H](CO)O[C@H](O[C@@H]3[C@H](O[C@@H]4OC[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H]4O)[C@@H](*)O[C@H](CO)[C@H]3O[C@@H]3OC[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H]3O)[C@H]2O[C@@H]2OC[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H]2O)O[C@H](CO)[C@H]1O[C@@H]1OC[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H]1O

SVG MW SMILES 3D mol Ionize