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Infection and Immunity, June 2004, p. 3478-3488, Vol. 72, No. 6
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.6.3478-3488.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Interaction of Blastomyces dermatitidis, Sporothrix schenckii, and Histoplasma capsulatum with Acanthamoeba castellanii

Judith N. Steenbergen, Joshua D. Nosanchuk, Stephanie D. Malliaris, and Arturo Casadevall*

Departments of Microbiology and Immunology and Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461

Received 30 December 2003/ Returned for modification 14 January 2004/ Accepted 27 January 2004

Several dimorphic fungi are important human pathogens, but the origin and maintenance of virulence in these organisms is enigmatic, since an interaction with a mammalian host is not a requisite for fungal survival. Recently, Cryptococcus neoformans was shown to interact with macrophages, slime molds, and amoebae in a similar manner, suggesting that fungal pathogenic strategies may arise from environmental interactions with phagocytic microorganisms. In this study, we examined the interactions of three dimorphic fungi with the soil amoeba Acanthameobae castellanii. Yeast forms of Blastomyces dermatitidis, Sporothrix schenckii, and Histoplasma capsulatum were each ingested by amoebae and macrophages, and phagocytosis of yeast cells resulted in amoeba death and fungal growth. H. capsulatum conidia were also cytotoxic to amoebae. For each fungal species, exposure of yeast cells to amoebae resulted in an increase in hyphal cells. Exposure of an avirulent laboratory strain of H. capsulatum to A. castellanii selected for, or induced, a phenotype of H. capsulatum that caused a persistent murine lung infection. These results are consistent with the view that soil amoebae may contribute to the selection and maintenance of certain traits in pathogenic dimorphic fungi that confer on these microbes the capacity for virulence in mammals.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Bronx, NY 10461. Phone: (718) 430-3665. Fax: (718) 430-8968. E-mail: casadeva{at}aecom.yu.edu.

Editor: T. R. Kozel

Infection and Immunity, June 2004, p. 3478-3488, Vol. 72, No. 6
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.6.3478-3488.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Casadevall, A., Pirofski, L.-a. (2007). Accidental Virulence, Cryptic Pathogenesis, Martians, Lost Hosts, and the Pathogenicity of Environmental Microbes. Eukaryot Cell 6: 2169-2174 [Full Text]  


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