A role for vesicular transport of macromolecules across cell walls in fungal pathogenesis

Abstract

In our recent work, we have shown that fungal species from different phyla produce extracellular vesicles. The vesicles are heterogeneous and morphologically similar to mammalian exosomes, with intact bilayered membranes. Proteomic analyses reveal that the vesicles contain a broad array of macromolecules, many of which are associated with fungal virulence. Further, the biological import of the extracellular fungal vesicles is supported by their presence during murine cryptococcosis and the immunoreactivity of convalescent serum from patients with C. neoformans or H. capsulatum vesicle protein extracts.

In contrast to most eukaryotic cells, fungi have complex cell walls, that could in theory provide a significant barrier to the secretion of large molecules. The discovery of trans-cell wall vesicular transport in fungi provides a solution to the problem of extracellular transport of macromolecules. Identifying similar vesicles in ascomycetes and basidiomycetes suggest that the shuttle system is ancient, predating the divergence of these branches 0.5-1.0 billion years ago. Importantly, the discovery of this trans-cell wall vesicular transport system also poses new, interesting questions for future investigations.