Titan cells and yeast forms of cryptococcus neoformans and cryptococcus gattii are recognized by gxmr-car

Matheus Henrique Dos Santos, Michele Procópio Machado, Pappanaicken R. Kumaresan, Thiago Aparecido da Silva

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cryptococcosis, a systemic mycosis that affects both the immunocompromised and immunocompetent, is caused by the inhalation of dehydrated yeasts or fungal spores of Cryptococcus gattii or Cryptococcus neoformans. The Cryptococcus spp. polysaccharide capsule is composed mainly of glucuronoxylomannan—GXM, its major virulence factor. The capsule thickness increases to more than 15 µm during titanization, favoring the pathogenesis of cryptococcosis. Previous studies demonstrated that cytotoxic T cells that had been bioengineered with GXM-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (GXMR-CAR) were able to recognize C. neoformans by promoting the control of titanization. GXMR-CAR, a second-generation CAR, contains a single-chain variable fragment that originates from a 18B7 clone: a human IgG4 hinge, followed by a human CD28 (transmembrane/cytoplasmic domains) and a CD3ς chain. In the current study, we redirected T cells to target distinct C. neoformans and C. gattii cell types by GXMR-CAR. Lentiviral particles carrying the GXMR-CAR sequence were used to transduce Jurkat cells, and these modified cells interacted with the GXM of the C. gattii R265 strain. Moreover, GXMR-CAR mediated the recognition of C. gattii and C. neoformans yeasts with both thin and thick polysaccharide capsules, and GXMR-CAR Jurkat cells interacted with titan cells sourced from both Cryptococcus spp. Thus, bioengineered cells using CAR can improve the treatment of cryptococcosis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number1886
JournalMicroorganisms
Volume9
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2021

Keywords

  • Cell therapy
  • Chimeric antigen receptor
  • Cryptococcus spp
  • Glucuronoxylomannan

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Virology

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