What's New in Cryptococcus gattii: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond

doi:10.3390/jof9010041

Review

. 2022 Dec 27;9(1):41.

doi: 10.3390/jof9010041.

What's New in Cryptococcus gattii: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond

Justin Beardsley ^{1

2

3}, Aiken Dao ^{1

2

3}, Caitlin Keighley ¹, Katherine Garnham ^{1

4}, Catriona Halliday ^{1

2

5}, Sharon C-A Chen ^{1

2

5}, Tania C Sorrell ^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Sydney Infectious Disease Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
² Westmead Hospital, New South Wales Health, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
³ Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
⁴ Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Sunshine Coast University, Birtinya, QLD 4575, Australia.
⁵ Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research (ICPMR), NSW Health Pathology, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.

PMID: 36675862
PMCID: PMC9865494
DOI: 10.3390/jof9010041

Review

What's New in Cryptococcus gattii: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond

Justin Beardsley et al. J Fungi (Basel). 2022.

. 2022 Dec 27;9(1):41.

doi: 10.3390/jof9010041.

Authors

Justin Beardsley ^{1

2

3}, Aiken Dao ^{1

2

3}, Caitlin Keighley ¹, Katherine Garnham ^{1

4}, Catriona Halliday ^{1

2

5}, Sharon C-A Chen ^{1

2

5}, Tania C Sorrell ^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Sydney Infectious Disease Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
² Westmead Hospital, New South Wales Health, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
³ Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
⁴ Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Sunshine Coast University, Birtinya, QLD 4575, Australia.
⁵ Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research (ICPMR), NSW Health Pathology, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.

PMID: 36675862
PMCID: PMC9865494
DOI: 10.3390/jof9010041

Abstract

Cryptococcus species are a major cause of life-threatening infections in immunocompromised and immunocompetent hosts. While most disease is caused by Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus gattii, a genotypically and phenotypically distinct species, is responsible for 11-33% of global cases of cryptococcosis. Despite best treatment, C. gattii infections are associated with early mortality rates of 10-25%. The World Health Organization's recently released Fungal Priority Pathogen List classified C. gattii as a medium-priority pathogen due to the lack of effective therapies and robust clinical and epidemiological data. This narrative review summarizes the latest research on the taxonomy, epidemiology, pathogenesis, laboratory testing, and management of C. gattii infections.

Keywords: Cryptococcus gattii; antifungal; antimicrobial resistance; cryptococcosis; diagnostic tools; epidemiology; fungal infection; medical mycology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

(a) Cryptococcus gattii growing on Sabouraud dextrose agar (b) C. gattii strained with India Ink.

Figure 2

Figure 2

Cryptococcal antigen lateral flow assays (CrAg-LFA).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Hurtado J.C., Castillo P., Fernandes F., Navarro M., Lovane L., Casas I., Quintó L., Marco F., Jordao D., Ismail M.R., et al. Mortality due to Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in low-income settings: An autopsy study. Sci. Rep. 2019;9:7493. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-43941-w. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Lee G.A., Arthur I., Merritt A., Leung M. Molecular types of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in Western Australia and correlation with antifungal susceptibility. Med. Mycol. 2019;57:1004–1010. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myy161. - DOI - PubMed
1. Lahiri S., Manjunath N., Bhat M., Hagen F., Bahubali V.H., Palaniappan M., Maji S., Chandrashekar N. Clinical insights and epidemiology of central nervous system infection due to Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii species complexes: A prospective study from South India. Med. Mycol. 2020;58:600–608. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myz097. - DOI - PubMed
1. Smith R.M., Mba-Jonas A., Tourdjman M., Schimek T., DeBess E., Marsden-Haug N., Harris J.R. Treatment and outcomes among patients with Cryptococcus gattii infections in the United States Pacific Northwest. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e88875. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088875. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Chen S.C., Korman T.M., Slavin M.A., Marriott D., Byth K., Bak N., Currie B.J., Hajkowicz K., Heath C.H., Kidd S., et al. Antifungal therapy and management of complications of cryptococcosis due to Cryptococcus gattii. Clin. Infect. Dis. 2013;57:543–551. doi: 10.1093/cid/cit341. - DOI - PubMed

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[1] Hurtado J.C., Castillo P., Fernandes F., Navarro M., Lovane L., Casas I., Quintó L., Marco F., Jordao D., Ismail M.R., et al. Mortality due to Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in low-income settings: An autopsy study. Sci. Rep. 2019;9:7493. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-43941-w. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[2] Hurtado J.C., Castillo P., Fernandes F., Navarro M., Lovane L., Casas I., Quintó L., Marco F., Jordao D., Ismail M.R., et al. Mortality due to Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in low-income settings: An autopsy study. Sci. Rep. 2019;9:7493. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-43941-w. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[3] Lee G.A., Arthur I., Merritt A., Leung M. Molecular types of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in Western Australia and correlation with antifungal susceptibility. Med. Mycol. 2019;57:1004–1010. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myy161. - DOI - PubMed

[4] Lee G.A., Arthur I., Merritt A., Leung M. Molecular types of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in Western Australia and correlation with antifungal susceptibility. Med. Mycol. 2019;57:1004–1010. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myy161. - DOI - PubMed

[5] Lahiri S., Manjunath N., Bhat M., Hagen F., Bahubali V.H., Palaniappan M., Maji S., Chandrashekar N. Clinical insights and epidemiology of central nervous system infection due to Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii species complexes: A prospective study from South India. Med. Mycol. 2020;58:600–608. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myz097. - DOI - PubMed

[6] Lahiri S., Manjunath N., Bhat M., Hagen F., Bahubali V.H., Palaniappan M., Maji S., Chandrashekar N. Clinical insights and epidemiology of central nervous system infection due to Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii species complexes: A prospective study from South India. Med. Mycol. 2020;58:600–608. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myz097. - DOI - PubMed

[7] Smith R.M., Mba-Jonas A., Tourdjman M., Schimek T., DeBess E., Marsden-Haug N., Harris J.R. Treatment and outcomes among patients with Cryptococcus gattii infections in the United States Pacific Northwest. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e88875. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088875. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Smith R.M., Mba-Jonas A., Tourdjman M., Schimek T., DeBess E., Marsden-Haug N., Harris J.R. Treatment and outcomes among patients with Cryptococcus gattii infections in the United States Pacific Northwest. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e88875. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088875. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Chen S.C., Korman T.M., Slavin M.A., Marriott D., Byth K., Bak N., Currie B.J., Hajkowicz K., Heath C.H., Kidd S., et al. Antifungal therapy and management of complications of cryptococcosis due to Cryptococcus gattii. Clin. Infect. Dis. 2013;57:543–551. doi: 10.1093/cid/cit341. - DOI - PubMed

[10] Chen S.C., Korman T.M., Slavin M.A., Marriott D., Byth K., Bak N., Currie B.J., Hajkowicz K., Heath C.H., Kidd S., et al. Antifungal therapy and management of complications of cryptococcosis due to Cryptococcus gattii. Clin. Infect. Dis. 2013;57:543–551. doi: 10.1093/cid/cit341. - DOI - PubMed

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What's New in Cryptococcus gattii: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond

Affiliations

What's New in Cryptococcus gattii: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources