Figure 1

Lateral transfer of JEC21 (white arrow) from infected (donor, rectangle) to uninfected (recipient, oval) human primary cells. (A to E) The donor cell moves underneath the recipient cell and after 85 min, the recipient macrophage contacts the cryptococcal containing compartment. (F to I) About 160 min after the onset of filming, membrane fusion starts to occur at the contact point of the two cells and initiates lateral transfer of the yeast from the donor cell to the recipient cell. The whole process takes only seven minutes. (J to M) Upon completion, the cryptococcal cell is entirely in the recipient macrophage and the donor macrophage moves away.