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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Nov 28.
Published in final edited form as: Adv Exp Med Biol. 2010;688:232–237. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-6741-1_16

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Sphingolipid signaling in Cryptococcus neoformans. Inositol phosphoryl ceramide synthase 1 (Ipc1) in C. neoformans produces diacylglycerol (DAG) in addition to inositol phosphoryl ceramide IPC). DAG binds to the C1 domain of protein kinase C1 (Pkc1), which is important for cell wall integrity. This integrity is crucial for localization of laccase, the enzyme responsible for melanin synthesis. In addition, DAG also activates the transcription factor Atf2, which leads to transcription of the antiphagocytic protein 1 (App1). Both App1 and melanin regulate pathogenicity of C. neoformans.