Effects of human immunoglobulin A on Cryptococcus neoformans morphology and gene expression

ABSTRACT Human IgM was previously shown to inhibit Titan-like cell formation of Cryptococcus neoformans, whereas IgG did not. Here, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the effect of normal human IgA on C. neoformans biology (strain H99) and compared it to that of IgG and IgM. We found that like IgM...

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Main Authors: Nuria Trevijano-Contador, Haroldo C. de Oliveira, Claudia Malacatus-Bravo, Varona Sarai, Isabel Cuesta, Marcio L. Rodrigues, Óscar Zaragoza, Liise-anne Pirofski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2025-04-01
Series:Microbiology Spectrum
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Online Access:https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02008-24
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author Nuria Trevijano-Contador
Haroldo C. de Oliveira
Claudia Malacatus-Bravo
Varona Sarai
Isabel Cuesta
Marcio L. Rodrigues
Óscar Zaragoza
Liise-anne Pirofski
author_facet Nuria Trevijano-Contador
Haroldo C. de Oliveira
Claudia Malacatus-Bravo
Varona Sarai
Isabel Cuesta
Marcio L. Rodrigues
Óscar Zaragoza
Liise-anne Pirofski
author_sort Nuria Trevijano-Contador
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Human IgM was previously shown to inhibit Titan-like cell formation of Cryptococcus neoformans, whereas IgG did not. Here, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the effect of normal human IgA on C. neoformans biology (strain H99) and compared it to that of IgG and IgM. We found that like IgM, IgA affected H99 cell size and morphology. The total size of cells cultured with IgA was significantly smaller at 24 h than cells cultured with IgM and IgG and comparable to IgM but smaller than IgG at 72 h. We also examined extracellular vesicle (EV) production and found that it was significantly reduced in cells cultured with IgA than the control, but the EVs were larger. To further probe the effect of IgA on H99, we performed expression profiling by RNAseq of H99 cells cultured with each immunoglobulin isotype and compared the results with IgA to those with IgM, IgG, and a control (PBS). These comparisons showed that cells cultured with IgA overexpressed genes related to cell rescue, defense, virulence, energy conservation, adapation to stress with CNAG_00735 (aldehyde dehydrogenase family seven member A1) being the most overexpressed, and repressed some genes related to vesicular transport, including CNAG_04306 (vesicle transporter SFT2B) and CNG_00063 (histone H3). Collectively, our findings suggest that the effects of IgA on cryptococcal biology deserve further investigation, as they reveal new insights into human host–C. neoformans interaction, which suggest that antibody responses may affect gene expression in C. neoformans.IMPORTANCEProfound CD4 T cell deficiency is associated with the development of cryptococcosis in HIV-infected individuals. However, perturbations in antibody immunity, including reduced levels of plasma IgA and IgM, have also been associated with cryptococcal disease status. While IgM has been studied in some detail, IgA has not. Here, we evaluated the effect of normal human IgA on Cryptococcus neoformans biology and morphology to expand knowledge of the role that it may play in cryptococcal pathogenesis.
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spelling doaj-art-ecce5db44b2a4432a6f3ca2b154d2c992025-08-20T01:54:53ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972025-04-0113410.1128/spectrum.02008-24Effects of human immunoglobulin A on Cryptococcus neoformans morphology and gene expressionNuria Trevijano-Contador0Haroldo C. de Oliveira1Claudia Malacatus-Bravo2Varona Sarai3Isabel Cuesta4Marcio L. Rodrigues5Óscar Zaragoza6Liise-anne Pirofski7Mycology Reference Laboratory, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Madrid, SpainInstituto Carlos Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Curitiba, BrazilMycology Reference Laboratory, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Madrid, SpainBioinformatics Unit, Core Scientific and Technical Units, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, SpainBioinformatics Unit, Core Scientific and Technical Units, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, SpainInstituto Carlos Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Curitiba, BrazilMycology Reference Laboratory, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Madrid, SpainDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USAABSTRACT Human IgM was previously shown to inhibit Titan-like cell formation of Cryptococcus neoformans, whereas IgG did not. Here, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the effect of normal human IgA on C. neoformans biology (strain H99) and compared it to that of IgG and IgM. We found that like IgM, IgA affected H99 cell size and morphology. The total size of cells cultured with IgA was significantly smaller at 24 h than cells cultured with IgM and IgG and comparable to IgM but smaller than IgG at 72 h. We also examined extracellular vesicle (EV) production and found that it was significantly reduced in cells cultured with IgA than the control, but the EVs were larger. To further probe the effect of IgA on H99, we performed expression profiling by RNAseq of H99 cells cultured with each immunoglobulin isotype and compared the results with IgA to those with IgM, IgG, and a control (PBS). These comparisons showed that cells cultured with IgA overexpressed genes related to cell rescue, defense, virulence, energy conservation, adapation to stress with CNAG_00735 (aldehyde dehydrogenase family seven member A1) being the most overexpressed, and repressed some genes related to vesicular transport, including CNAG_04306 (vesicle transporter SFT2B) and CNG_00063 (histone H3). Collectively, our findings suggest that the effects of IgA on cryptococcal biology deserve further investigation, as they reveal new insights into human host–C. neoformans interaction, which suggest that antibody responses may affect gene expression in C. neoformans.IMPORTANCEProfound CD4 T cell deficiency is associated with the development of cryptococcosis in HIV-infected individuals. However, perturbations in antibody immunity, including reduced levels of plasma IgA and IgM, have also been associated with cryptococcal disease status. While IgM has been studied in some detail, IgA has not. Here, we evaluated the effect of normal human IgA on Cryptococcus neoformans biology and morphology to expand knowledge of the role that it may play in cryptococcal pathogenesis.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02008-24Cryptococcus neoformanshuman immunoglobulinIgAIgGIgMTitan-like cells
spellingShingle Nuria Trevijano-Contador
Haroldo C. de Oliveira
Claudia Malacatus-Bravo
Varona Sarai
Isabel Cuesta
Marcio L. Rodrigues
Óscar Zaragoza
Liise-anne Pirofski
Effects of human immunoglobulin A on Cryptococcus neoformans morphology and gene expression
Microbiology Spectrum
Cryptococcus neoformans
human immunoglobulin
IgA
IgG
IgM
Titan-like cells
title Effects of human immunoglobulin A on Cryptococcus neoformans morphology and gene expression
title_full Effects of human immunoglobulin A on Cryptococcus neoformans morphology and gene expression
title_fullStr Effects of human immunoglobulin A on Cryptococcus neoformans morphology and gene expression
title_full_unstemmed Effects of human immunoglobulin A on Cryptococcus neoformans morphology and gene expression
title_short Effects of human immunoglobulin A on Cryptococcus neoformans morphology and gene expression
title_sort effects of human immunoglobulin a on cryptococcus neoformans morphology and gene expression
topic Cryptococcus neoformans
human immunoglobulin
IgA
IgG
IgM
Titan-like cells
url https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02008-24
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