| Summary: | Cryptococcosis is a disease caused by the pathogenic fungi <i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i> and <i>Cryptococcus gattii</i>, both environmental fungi that cause severe pneumonia and may even lead to cryptococcal meningoencephalitis. Although <i>C. neoformans</i> affects more fragile individuals, such as immunocompromised hosts through opportunistic infections, <i>C. gattii</i> causes a serious indiscriminate primary infection in immunocompetent individuals. Typically seen in tropical and subtropical environments, <i>C. gattii</i> has increased its endemic area over recent years, largely due to climatic factors that favor contagion in warmer climates. It is important to point out that not only <i>C. gattii</i>, but the <i>Cryptococcus</i> species complex produces a polysaccharidic capsule with immunomodulatory properties, enabling the pathogenic species of <i>Cryptococccus</i> to subvert the host immune response during the establishment of cryptococcosis, facilitating its dissemination in the infected organism. <i>C. gattii</i> causes a more severe and difficult-to-treat infection, with few antifungals eliciting an effective response during chronic treatment. Much of the immunopathology of this cryptococcosis is still poorly understood, with most studies focusing on cryptococcosis caused by the species <i>C. neoformans</i>. <i>C. gattii</i> became more important in the epidemiological scenario with the outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, which resulted in phylogenetic studies of the virulent variant responsible for the severe infection in the region. Since then, the study of cryptococcosis caused by <i>C. gattii</i> has helped researchers understand the immunopathological aspects of different variants of this pathogen.
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