Cryptococcus neoformans produces vesicles containing its major virulence factor, the capsular polysaccharide glucuronoxylomannan (GXM). These vesicles cross the cell wall to reach the extracellular space, where the polysaccharide is supposedly used for capsule growth or delivered into host tissues. In the present study, we characterized vesicle morphology and protein composition by a combination of techniques including electron microscopy, proteomics, enzymatic activity, and serological reactivity. Secretory vesicles in C. neoformans appear to be correlated with exosome-like compartments derived from multivesicular bodies. Extracellular vesicles manifested various sizes and morphologies, including electron-lucid membrane bodies and electron-dense vesicles. Seventy-six proteins were identified by proteomic analysis, including several related to virulence and protection against oxidative stress. Biochemical tests indicated laccase and urease activities in vesicles. In addition, different vesicle proteins were recognized by sera from patients with cryptococcosis. These results reveal an efficient and general mechanism of secretion of pathogenesis-related molecules in C. neoformans , suggesting that extracellular vesicles function as “virulence bags” that deliver a concentrated payload of fungal products to host effector cells and tissues.

An unprecedented mechanism of ubiquitination that is independent of E1 and E2 enzymes, instead relying on activation of ubiquitin by ADP-ribosylation, and which is mediated by members of the SidE effector family encoded by the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila, establishes that ubiquitination can be carried out by a single enzyme. Ubiquitination is an important regulatory mechanism for many cellular processes, and several bacterial pathogens have evolved to exploit and target this protein degradation pathway to facilitate their own proliferation. Ubiquitination is catalysed by a sequential multi-enzyme cascade that involves three enzymes: E1, E2 and E3. In this study, Zhao-Qing Luo and colleagues describe an unprecedented mechanism of ubiquitination that is independent of E1 and E2 enzymes, and which is mediated by members of the SidE effector family encoded by the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila. They show that SidE effectors ubiquitinate multiple Rab small GTPases in a mechanism that relies on activation of ubiquitin by ADP-ribosylation, thereby circumventing the requirement for activation by the E1 and E2 enzymes. This work establishes that ubiquitination can be carried out by a single enzyme, but future work is required to resolve the functional implications of this unique mechanism of post-translational modification. Signalling by ubiquitination regulates virtually every cellular process in eukaryotes. Covalent attachment of ubiquitin to a substrate is catalysed by the E1, E2 and E3 three-enzyme cascade1, which links the carboxy terminus of ubiquitin to the ε-amino group of, in most cases, a lysine of the substrate via an isopeptide bond. Given the essential roles of ubiquitination in the regulation of the immune system, it is not surprising that the ubiquitination network is a common target for diverse infectious agents2. For example, many bacterial pathogens exploit ubiquitin signalling using virulence factors that function as E3 ligases, deubiquitinases3 or as enzymes that directly attack ubiquitin4. The bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila utilizes approximately 300 effectors that modulate diverse host processes to create a permissive niche for its replication in phagocytes5. Here we demonstrate that members of the SidE effector family of L. pneumophila ubiquitinate multiple Rab small GTPases associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. Moreover, we show that these proteins are capable of catalysing ubiquitination without the need for the E1 and E2 enzymes. A putative mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase motif critical for the ubiquitination activity is also essential for the role of the SidE family in intracellular bacterial replication in a protozoan host. The E1/E2-independent ubiquitination catalysed by these enzymes is energized by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which activates ubiquitin by the formation of ADP-ribosylated ubiquitin. These results establish that ubiquitination can be catalysed by a single enzyme, the activity of which does not require ATP.

Vesicular secretion of macromolecules has recently been described in the basidiomycete Cryptococcus neoformans, raising the question as to whether ascomycetes similarly utilize vesicles for transport. In the present study, we examine whether the clinically important ascomycete Histoplasma capsulatum produce vesicles and utilized these structures to secrete macromolecules. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows transcellular secretion of vesicles by yeast cells. Proteomic and lipidomic analyses of vesicles isolated from culture supernatants reveal a rich collection of macromolecules involved in diverse processes, including metabolism, cell recycling, signalling and virulence. The results demonstrate that H. capsulatum can utilize a trans-cell wall vesicular transport secretory mechanism to promote virulence. Additionally, TEM of supernatants collected from Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Sporothrix schenckii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae documents that vesicles are similarly produced by additional ascomycetes. The vesicles from H. capsulatum react with immune serum from patients with histoplasmosis, providing an association of the vesicular products with pathogenesis. The findings support the proposal that vesicular secretion is a general mechanism in fungi for the transport of macromolecules related to virulence and that this process could be a target for novel therapeutics.

The release of extracellular vesicles (EV) by fungal organisms is considered an alternative transport mechanism to trans‐cell wall passage of macromolecules. Previous studies have revealed the presence of EV in culture supernatants from fungal pathogens, such as Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Sporothrix schenckii, Malassezia sympodialis and Candida albicans. Here we investigated the size, composition, kinetics of internalization by bone marrow‐derived murine macrophages (MO) and dendritic cells (DC), and the immunomodulatory activity of C. albicans EV. We also evaluated the impact of EV on fungal virulence using the Galleria mellonella larvae model. By transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, we identified two populations ranging from 50 to 100 nm and 350 to 850 nm. Two predominant seroreactive proteins (27 kDa and 37 kDa) and a group of polydispersed mannoproteins were observed in EV by immunoblotting analysis. Proteomic analysis of C. albicans EV revealed proteins related to pathogenesis, cell organization, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, response to stress, and several other functions. The major lipids detected by thin‐layer chromatography were ergosterol, lanosterol and glucosylceramide. Short exposure of MO to EV resulted in internalization of these vesicles and production of nitric oxide, interleukin (IL)‐12, transforming growth factor‐beta (TGF‐β) and IL‐10. Similarly, EV‐treated DC produced IL‐12p40, IL‐10 and tumour necrosis factor‐alpha. In addition, EV treatment induced the up‐regulation of CD86 and major histocompatibility complex class‐II (MHC‐II). Inoculation of G. mellonella larvae with EV followed by challenge with C. albicans reduced the number of recovered viable yeasts in comparison with infected larvae control. Taken together, our results demonstrate that C. albicans EV were immunologically active and could potentially interfere with the host responses in the setting of invasive candidiasis.