Role of the ESCRT Pathway in Laccase Trafficking and Virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans

Abstract

The endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) plays a crucial role in the transportation and degradation of proteins. We determined that Vps27, a key protein of the ESCRT-0 complex, is required for the transport of the virulence factor laccase to the cell wall in Cryptococcus neoformans . Laccase activity was perturbed, as was melanin production, in vps27 Δ strains. In the absence of VPS27 , there was an accumulation of multivesicular bodies with vacuolar fragmentation and mistargeting of the vacuolar carboxypeptidase CPY/Prc1, resulting in an extracellular localization.