Phospholipase production in Crytococcus neoformans isolates from AIDS patients in Thailand and Italy

Purpose. Production of extracellular phospholipase and its possible involve ment in pathogenesis were recently reported in Cryprococcus neoformans as w ell as Candida albicans, but cryptococcal phospholipase study requires scre ening of the phospholipase production in a larger number of isolates from a variety of clinical and environmental sources. Materials and methods. To examine the prevalence of the phospholipase produ ction in C. neoformans strains, a total of 129 isolates from AIDS patients in Khon Kaen (Thailand) and Turin (Italy) were rested using an egg yolk aga r plate method. Results. Among the 106 isolates from Khon Kaen, 104 were typed in serotype A, and one each was in serotypes B and AD. In contrast, 18 among the 23 iso lates from Turin were serotyped in D, two were in A, and one each was in B, C and AD. The phospholipase production was positive in 128 of the total 12 9 isolates at both 30 degrees and 37 degrees C. These results show that pho spholipase production is widely distributed in C. neoformans strains despit e differences in serotype. The percentage of phospholipase-producing isolat es obtained in the present study was higher than that reported in C. albica ns isolates from a variety of sources, suggesting an essential role of the enzyme in the metabolism and pathogenesis of C. neoformans.