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Review
. 2006 Nov;50(11):3519-28.
doi: 10.1128/AAC.00545-06.

Impact of melanin on microbial virulence and clinical resistance to antimicrobial compounds

Joshua D Nosanchuk  1 , Arturo Casadevall
Affiliations
Review

Impact of melanin on microbial virulence and clinical resistance to antimicrobial compounds

Joshua D Nosanchuk et al. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2006 Nov.
No abstract available

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Chemical structures of pheomelanin (A) and eumelanin (B) oligomers.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
The pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans. (A) India ink preparation showing a budding C. neoformans yeast cell with a large polysaccharide capsule surrounding the cell bodies. Bar, 5 μm. (B) A melanin “ghost,” a melanin particle isolated from C. neoformans grown for 10 days in the presence of l-dopa by serial treatment of the yeast with enzymes, denaturant, chloroform, and hot acid. Bar, 2 μm. (C) Transmission electron micrograph of a cross-section of a C. neoformans “ghost” showing that the particle is formed of concentric layers of melanin. Bar, 1 μm. (D) Depiction of the melanin granules comprising the melanin layers, demonstrating how the packing of the granules results in pores that obstruct the passage of large molecules, such as amphotericin B or caspofungin. Obstruction of antifungal molecules can occur by virtue of a reduced melanin pore size or melanin binding. Panel D is based on data from reference .
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