Effect of rapamycin on Cryptococcus neoformans : cellular organization, biophysics and virulence factors.

is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes infections mainly in immunosuppressed individuals, such as transplant recipients. This study investigated the effects of rapamycin, an immunosuppressant drug, on the cellular organization, biophysical characteristics, and main virulence factors of . Morphological, structural, physicochemical and biophysical analyses of cells and secreted polysaccharides of the reference H99 strain were investigated under the effect of subinhibitory concentrations of rapamycin. Rapamycin at a minimum inhibitory concentration of 2.5 μM reduced cell viability by 53%, decreased capsule, increased cell size, chitin and lipid body formation, and changed peptidase and urease activity. Further studies are needed to assess how rapamycin affects the virulence factors and pathogenicity of