L
Laura H. Okagaki
Researcher at North Carolina State University
Publications - 13
Citations - 1075
Laura H. Okagaki is an academic researcher from North Carolina State University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Cryptococcus neoformans & Cell morphology. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 13 publications receiving 919 citations. Previous affiliations of Laura H. Okagaki include University of Minnesota.
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Journal ArticleDOI
Cryptococcal cell morphology affects host cell interactions and pathogenicity.
Laura H. Okagaki,Anna K. Strain,Judith N. Nielsen,Caroline Charlier,Nicholas J. Baltes,Fabrice Chrétien,Fabrice Chrétien,Joseph Heitman,Françoise Dromer,Kirsten Nielsen +9 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe a mechanism by which C. neoformans evades host phagocytosis to allow survival of a subset of the population at early stages of infection.
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Titan Cells Confer Protection from Phagocytosis in Cryptococcus neoformans Infections
Laura H. Okagaki,Kirsten Nielsen +1 more
TL;DR: It is suggested that titan cells play a critical role in establishment of the pulmonary infection by promoting the survival of the entire population of cryptococcal cells by protecting against phagocytosis.
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Increased Antifungal Drug Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans in Uganda
Kyle D. Smith,Beatrice Achan,Katherine Huppler Hullsiek,Tami R. McDonald,Laura H. Okagaki,Ali A. Alhadab,Andrew Akampurira,Joshua Rhein,David B. Meya,David B. Meya,David R. Boulware,Kirsten Nielsen +11 more
TL;DR: Examination of antifungal drug susceptibility in 198 clinical isolates collected from Kampala, Uganda, between 2010 and 2014 using the CLSI broth microdilution assay developed and validated an assay that could easily be implemented in a resource-limited setting, with similar susceptibility results.
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Titan Cell Production Enhances the Virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans
Juliet Crabtree,Laura H. Okagaki,Darin L. Wiesner,Anna K. Strain,Judith N. Nielsen,Kirsten Nielsen +5 more
TL;DR: Data show that titan cell formation is a novel virulence factor in C. neoformans that promotes establishment of the initial pulmonary infection and plays a key role in disease progression.
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Cryptococcal Titan Cell Formation Is Regulated by G-Protein Signaling in Response to Multiple Stimuli
Laura H. Okagaki,Yina Wang,Elizabeth R. Ballou,Teresa R. O’Meara,Yong Sun Bahn,J. Andrew Alspaugh,Chaoyang Xue,Kirsten Nielsen +7 more
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that two G-protein-coupled receptors are important for induction of the titan cell phenotype: the Ste3a pheromone receptor (in mating type a cells) and the Gpr5 protein.