Nonlytic exocytosis is a process in which previously ingested microbes are expelled from host phagocytes with the concomitant survival of both cell types. This process has been observed in the interaction of Cryptococcus spp. and other fungal cells with phagocytes as distant as mammalian, bird, and fish macrophages and ameboid predators. Despite a great amount of research dedicated to unraveling this process, there are still many questions about its regulation and its final benefits for host or fungal cells. During a study to characterize the virulence attributes of Brazilian clinical isolates of C. neoformans, we observed great variability in their rates of nonlytic exocytosis and noted a correlation between this process and fungal melanin production/laccase activity. Flow cytometry experiments using melanized cells, nonmelanized cells, and lac1Δ mutants revealed that laccase has a role in the process of nonlytic exocytosis that seems to be independent of melanin production. These results identify a role for laccase in virulence, independent of its role in pigment production, that represents a new variable in the regulation of nonlytic exocytosis.

中文翻译：

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漆酶影响巨噬细胞中新隐球菌非溶性胞吐的速率。

非溶解性胞吐作用是一个过程，其中先前摄入的微生物从宿主吞噬细胞中排出，同时伴随着两种细胞类型的存活。在隐球菌属物种的相互作用中已经观察到该过程。吞噬细胞与哺乳动物，鸟类和鱼类的巨噬细胞和变形虫类似的其他真菌细胞。尽管进行了大量的研究来阐明这一过程，但关于其调控及其对宿主或真菌细胞的最终益处仍然存在许多疑问。在一项研究中表征巴西新形成梭状芽胞杆菌临床分离株的毒力属性，我们观察到它们的非溶解性胞吐速率存在很大差异，并注意到该过程与真菌黑色素生成/漆酶活性之间的相关性。使用黑色素化细胞，非黑色素化细胞和lac1Δ突变体的流式细胞术实验表明，漆酶在非溶解性胞吐过程中具有一定作用，似乎与黑色素的产生无关。这些结果确定了漆酶在毒力中的作用，独立于其在色素生成中的作用，这代表了非溶解性胞吐作用调节的新变量。