Updated project metadata.
Cryptococcus neoformans is a human fungal pathogen found ubiquitously within the environment and associated with infection of primarily immunocompromised individuals. Without the activation of an effective immune response, the pathogen can survive, proliferate, and disseminate throughout the host through the action of diverse virulence factors. These virulence factors include a polysaccharide capsule to protect the fungus from phagocytosis by macrophages, melanin production to neutralize reactive oxygen species, thermotolerance to survive at human physiological temperatures, and extracellular enzymes for host tissue degradation and invasion. We previously used mass spectrometry-based proteomics to explore the production of fungal virulence factors during infection using in vitro (macrophages) and in vivo (murine) models of disease. Based on our studies, we investigated the proteome response of C. neoformans upon disruption of CipC, a virulence-associated fungal protein.