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Updated: Feb 5, 2026

Macrophage Cholesterol Depletion and Its Effect on the Phagocytosis of Cryptococcus neoformans
Published on: December 19, 2014
[Identification of Heparin-binding Proteins on the Cell Surface of Cryptococcus neoformans]
Reiko Ikeda1, Tomoe Ichikawa1, Yu-Ki Tsukiji1
1Department of Microbial Science and Host Defense, Meiji Pharmaceutical University.
Abstract:
Interactions between virulence factors of pathogens and host responses play an important role in the establishment of infection by microbes. We focused on interactions between Cryptococcus neoformans proteins and heparin, which is abundant on host epithelial cells. Surface proteins were extracted and analyzed. Fractions from anion-exchange column chromatography interacted with heparin in surface plasmon resonance analyses. Heparin-binding proteins were purified and then separated by gel electrophoresis; and were identified as transaldolase, glutathione-disulfide reductase, and glyoxal oxidase. These results imply that multifunctional molecules on C. neoformans cells, such as those involved in heparin binding, may play roles in adhesion that trigger responses in the host.
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