FIG 10.

Ptp1 and Ptp2 play minor and major roles in survival, proliferation, and virulence of C. neoformans within the host. (A) A/J mice were infected with 10⁵ cells of the WT strain (H99; black line with circles) or ptp1 (red line with rectangles), ptp2 (blue line with triangles), or ptp1 ptp2 (green line with inversed triangles) strains by intranasal inhalation. Virulence attenuation was measured by statistical analysis using a log rank (Mantel-Cox) test. P values were 0.6859 for WT versus ptp1 mutant, <0.0001 for WT versus ptp2 mutant, <0.0001 for WT versus ptp1 ptp2 mutant, and 0.0019 for ptp2 versus ptp1 ptp2 mutant. (B) A/J mice were infected with 10⁵ cells of the WT strain, ptp1, ptp2, ptp1 ptp2 mutant strains, or ptp2::PTP2 complemented strain by intranasal inhalation. Fungal burden (CFU/g tissue) was measured by plating homogenates of the lung and the brain tissues onto YPD medium containing chloramphenicol (100 μg/ml) at 15 days postinfection. *, P < 0.05.