ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the different inhibitory effects of capsule-depleted and wild type Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans) on human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC), so as to clarify the role of C. neoformans capsule. Methods: The infection process of HUVEC by C. neoformans and the cellular morphologic changes of HUVEC were observed by transmission eletron microscope (TEM). The cell inhibition rates were detected with CCK-8 kit at different phases. Results: TEM observation revealed different degrees of cell damages after co-cultured with the above 2 strains of C. neoformans, with the loose endoplasmic reticulum, swollen mitochondria, nuclei damage, and disarranged cell structure. The result of CCK-8 showed that there was no significant difference in the inhibition rates of HUVEC between the 2 groups 30 min after co-culture (P>O. 05). 1 h, 2 h, 3 h, and 4 h after co-culture, the inhibition rate in capsule-depleted group was higher than that of the wild strain group(PO. 05). Conclusion: Capsule-depleted C. neoformans causes more significant endothelial cell injury than wild strain C. neoformans does, indicating that the capsule play an important role in C. neoformans-induced damage of endothelial cells.