Figure 1.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc) expressing cryptococcal MPR1 (Sc<CnMPR1>) gains ability to cross the BBB in in vitro model. (A) A schematic diagram of the static model of the human BBB. An immortalized human brain microvascular endothelial cell line (hCMEC/D3) was grown on collagen-coated transwell inserts submerged in cell culture medium such that the top chamber represented the blood (luminal) side and the bottom chamber represented the brain (abluminal) side. Yeast cells (S. cerevisiae) were added to the luminal side and incubated at 37°C with 5% CO₂. Following a 6-h co-incubation, the media of the abluminal side (containing Sc that crossed the BBB) were collected and plated on YPD agar for colony counting. (B) Transcytosis assays in the human BBB model revealed that a strain of Sc expressing CnMPR1 cDNA (Sc<CnMPR1>) crossed the BBB as shown by higher CFU counts compared to ScWT (P < 0.05, n = 6). ^**Indicates very significant with P < 0.01.