{"title":"Unveiling Lodderomyces elongisporus as an Emerging Yeast Pathogen: A Holistic Approach to Microbiological Diagnostic Strategies.","authors":"Watcharamat Muangkaew, Natthapaninee Thanomsridetchai, Marut Tangwattanachuleeporn, Sumate Ampawong, Passanesh Sukphopetch","doi":"10.1007/s11046-024-00901-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11046-024-00901-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lodderomyces elongisporus, first isolated in 1952, has increasingly been recognized as a significant pathogen, with a notable rise in human infections since the 1970s. Initially misidentified as Candida parapsilosis due to morphological similarities, L. elongisporus has now been conclusively established as a distinct species, largely due to advancements in molecular biology, particularly DNA sequencing. This review traces the detection history of L. elongisporus, from the earliest documented cases to the most recent reports, underscoring its role as a causative agent in human infections. It also explores therapeutic strategies that have demonstrated efficacy, alongside instances of environmental contamination reported in international literature. A critical evaluation of diagnostic methodologies essential for precise identification is provided, including culture-based techniques such as colony morphology on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and chromogenic media, coupled with microscopic assessments using Lactophenol Cotton Blue (LPCB) and Gram staining. The ultrastructure of L. elongisporus, as observed under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), is also discussed. Furthermore, non-culture-based diagnostics, such as sugar utilization tests (API 20C AUX and the innovative in-house arabinose-based \"Loddy\" test) and antifungal susceptibility profiling, are reviewed, with a particular focus on molecular tools like ITS-DNA sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS, which, despite their higher costs, offer unparalleled specificity. The accurate distinction and characterization of L. elongisporus are paramount, particularly in vulnerable and immunocompromised patients, where misdiagnosis can lead to severe consequences. This review advocates for intensified research efforts to develop more accessible diagnostic tools and deepen our understanding of this emerging pathogen, ultimately aiming to improve patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":19017,"journal":{"name":"Mycopathologia","volume":"189 6","pages":"94"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11519285/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142522498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Three-Dose Antifungal Treatment Improves the Efficacy for Severe Vulvovaginal Candidiasis.","authors":"Zhansong Xiao, Yiheng Liang, Xiaowei Zhang, Yuxia Zhu, Liting Huang, Shangrong Fan","doi":"10.1007/s11046-024-00889-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11046-024-00889-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a prevalent gynecological infection characterized by high incidence and recurrent episodes, causing significant distress in women. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of different clotrimazole and fluconazole treatment regimens for severe vulvovaginal candidiasis (SVVC). A retrospective analysis was conducted on 1303 cases of SVVC among first-time visitors to the gynecology outpatient department at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital between January 2013 and December 2022. Vaginal secretions were systematically collected for fungal culture, with species identification conducted using Chromogenic culture medium and API Candida test reagents. Mycological cure rates were assessed at days 7-14, days 25-35, and day 35 to 6 months after treatment. The three-dose clotrimazole regimen demonstrated significantly higher mycological cure rates (85.7%, 80.0% and 74.6% at three follow-up periods, respectively) compared to the two-dose clotrimazole regimen (76.0%, 61.6%, and 59.8%, all P < 0.05). The three-dose fluconazole regimen showed no significant difference to three-dose clotrimazole regimen, with cure rates of 82.8%, 79.3%, and 75.9% (all P > 0.05). The two-dose fluconazole regimen had cure rates of 74.3%, 56.4% and 51.1%, with no significant difference from two-dose clotrimazole regimen at days 7-14 and 25-35, but lower than three-dose fluconazole regimen at days 25-35 and 35 to 6 months. The three-dose clotrimazole regimen demonstrated higher cure rates in Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida SVVC cases than two-dose regimen. These findings suggest that three-dose antifungal regimens may be more efficacious than two-dose regimens for SVVC. The three-dose clotrimazole regimen could serve as a promising alternative for SVVC management.</p>","PeriodicalId":19017,"journal":{"name":"Mycopathologia","volume":"189 6","pages":"93"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11493825/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142470497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MycopathologiaPub Date : 2024-10-18DOI: 10.1007/s11046-024-00895-6
Ana Paula Carvalho Reis, Franciele Fernandes Correia, Giovanna Azevedo Celestrino, Carla Pagliari, Paulo Ricardo Criado, Pritesh Jaychand Lalwani, Gil Benard, Maria Gloria Teixeira Sousa
{"title":"In Situ Expression of TNF-α and IL-10 in Human Dermatophytosis Lesions due to Trichophyton rubrum.","authors":"Ana Paula Carvalho Reis, Franciele Fernandes Correia, Giovanna Azevedo Celestrino, Carla Pagliari, Paulo Ricardo Criado, Pritesh Jaychand Lalwani, Gil Benard, Maria Gloria Teixeira Sousa","doi":"10.1007/s11046-024-00895-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11046-024-00895-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dermatophytosis is a very common superficial mycosis, but there are few studies about the human immune response to dermatophytes. We aim to analyze the in situ expression of TNF-α and IL-10 in human dermatophytosis. Expression of TNF-α and IL-10 were evaluated in skin samples from 10 patients with dermatophytosis and 12 healthy subjects using an immunohistochemistry assay. TNF-α and IL-10 were significantly elevated in lesions from patients with dermatophytosis compared to healthy controls. These data illustrate the balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines suggesting Trichophyton rubrum infection could control the local immune response.</p>","PeriodicalId":19017,"journal":{"name":"Mycopathologia","volume":"189 6","pages":"92"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142470496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MycopathologiaPub Date : 2024-10-10DOI: 10.1007/s11046-024-00898-3
Fanfan Xing, Chaowen Deng, Shan Zou, Chi-Ching Tsang, Simon K F Lo, Susanna K P Lau, Patrick C Y Woo
{"title":"Emergence and Rapid Diagnosis of Talaromyces marneffei Infections in Renal Transplant Recipients by Next-Generation Sequencing.","authors":"Fanfan Xing, Chaowen Deng, Shan Zou, Chi-Ching Tsang, Simon K F Lo, Susanna K P Lau, Patrick C Y Woo","doi":"10.1007/s11046-024-00898-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11046-024-00898-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the last few years, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has emerged as a technology for laboratory diagnosis of many culture-negative infections and slow-growing microorganisms. In this study, we describe the use of metagenomic NGS (mNGS) for rapid diagnosis of T. marneffei infection in a 37-year-old renal transplant recipient who presented with chronic pneumonia syndrome. Bronchoalveolar lavage for mNGS was positive for T. marneffei sequence reads. Prolonged incubation of the bronchoalveolar lavage revealed T. marneffei colonies after 6 days of incubation. Analysis of 23 cases of T. marneffei infections in renal transplant recipients from the literature revealed that the number of cases ranged from 1 to 4 cases per five years from 1990 to 2020; but increased rapidly to 9 cases from 2021 to 2023, with 7 of them diagnosed by NGS. Twenty of the 23 cases were from T. marneffei-endemic areas [southern part of mainland China (n = 9); Hong Kong (n = 4); northeastern India (n = 2); Indonesia (n = 1) and Taiwan (n = 4)]. For the 3 patients from non-T. marneffei-endemic areas [United Kingdom (n = 2) and Australia (n = 1)], they had travel histories to China and Vietnam respectively. The time taken for diagnosis by mNGS [median 1 (range 1 to 2) day] was significantly shorter than that for fungal culture [median 6 (range 3 to 15) days] (P = 0.002). mNGS is useful for picking up more cases of T. marneffei infections in renal transplant recipients as well as providing a rapid diagnosis. Talaromycosis is an emerging fungal infection in renal transplant recipients.</p>","PeriodicalId":19017,"journal":{"name":"Mycopathologia","volume":"189 6","pages":"91"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11466905/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142400811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sex Differences in Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis and its Impact on Exacerbations.","authors":"Ritesh Agarwal, Valliappan Muthu, Inderpaul Singh Sehgal, Kuruswamy Thurai Prasad, Sahajal Dhooria, Mandeep Garg, Ashutosh N Aggarwal, Shivaprakash M Rudramurthy, Arunaloke Chakrabarti","doi":"10.1007/s11046-024-00893-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11046-024-00893-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The impact of sex on allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) outcomes remains uncertain. We retrospectively included ABPA subjects per the revised International Society for Human and Animal Mycology ABPA working group criteria over 13 years. We compared the clinical features, lung function, immunological tests, imaging, and ABPA exacerbation rates between men and women. Our primary objective was to assess whether women experience higher ABPA exacerbations than men. We included 731 ABPA subjects (mean age, 34.5 years; 49.5% women). Women with ABPA were older and had underlying asthma more frequently than men. There was no difference in lung function, immunological investigations, and imaging between men and women. ABPA exacerbations occurred in a slightly higher proportion of women than men (44.5% vs. 38.2%) but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.09). We did not find a significant sex difference in ABPA exacerbation rates. Prospective studies should confirm our findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":19017,"journal":{"name":"Mycopathologia","volume":"189 6","pages":"90"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142365876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MycopathologiaPub Date : 2024-09-26DOI: 10.1007/s11046-024-00896-5
Maria Kourti, Emmanuel Roilides
{"title":"Usage of Antifungal Agents in Pediatric Patients Versus Adults: Knowledge and Gaps.","authors":"Maria Kourti, Emmanuel Roilides","doi":"10.1007/s11046-024-00896-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11046-024-00896-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) present significant challenges in managing hospitalized and immunocompromised pediatric patients, contributing to high morbidity and mortality. Despite advancements in diagnostics and treatment, outcomes remain suboptimal due to unique clinical epidemiology, lack of pediatric-specific trials, and varied pharmacokinetics. The emergence of new antifungal classes and agents has expanded our options for preventing and treating IFIs in children, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of antifungal therapy. The oral formulations of ibrexafungerp, fosmanogepix and olorofim along with the extended dosing intervals of rezafungin show promising features for effective antifungal treatment in pediatrics. Despite the promising potential of novel antifungal drugs, their performance in heavily immunosuppressed patients remains unstudied. Until then, dedicated antifungal stewardship programs for high-risk patients are essential to optimize therapeutic outcomes, improve patient care, and limit the emergence of resistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":19017,"journal":{"name":"Mycopathologia","volume":"189 5","pages":"88"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142350555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessment of LAMPAuris for Rapid Detection of Candida auris in Clinical Specimens.","authors":"Mikachi Yamamoto, Mohamed Mahdi Alshahni, Aya Komori, Masakazu Mimaki, Koichi Makimura","doi":"10.1007/s11046-024-00892-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11046-024-00892-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Candida auris is a pathogenic yeast frequently exhibiting multidrug resistance and thus warrants special attention. The prompt detection and proper identification of this organism are needed to prevent its spread in healthcare facilities. The authors of this paper had previously developed LAMPAuris, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay, for the specific detection of C. auris. LAMPAuris is evaluated in this report for its ability to identify C. auris from five clades and to detect it from clinical specimens. A total of 103 skin swab samples were tested in comparison with a culture-based method and C. auris-specific SYBR green qPCR. The results show that the LAMPAuris assay had specificities ranging from 97 to 100% and sensitivities ranging from 66 to 86%. The lower sensitivity could be attributed to DNA degradation caused by the prolonged storage of the samples. In conclusion, LAMPAuris proved to be a rapid and reliable method for identifying C. auris and for detecting it in clinical specimens. Fresh specimens should ensure better yield and higher sensitivities.</p>","PeriodicalId":19017,"journal":{"name":"Mycopathologia","volume":"189 5","pages":"87"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142291749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparative Analysis of the Aspergillus fumigatus Cell Wall Modification and Ensuing Human Dendritic Cell Responses by β-(1,3)-Glucan Synthase Inhibitors-Caspofungin and Enfumafungin.","authors":"Karine Guilloux, Pushpa Hegde, Sarah Sze Wah Wong, Vishukumar Aimanianda, Jagadeesh Bayry, Jean-Paul Latgé","doi":"10.1007/s11046-024-00894-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11046-024-00894-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Caspofungin, a lipopeptide, is an antifungal drug that belong to the class of echinocandin. It inhibits fungal cell wall β-(1,3)-glucan synthase activity and is the second-line of drug for invasive aspergillosis, a fatal infection caused mainly by Aspergillus fumigatus. On the other hand, Enfumafungin is a natural triterpene glycoside also with a β-(1,3)-glucan synthase inhibitory activity and reported to have antifungal potential. In the present study, we compared the growth as well as modifications in the A. fumigatus cell wall upon treatment with Caspofungin or Enfumafungin, consequentially their immunomodulatory capacity on human dendritic cells. Caspofungin initially inhibited the growth of A. fumigatus, but the effect was lost over time. By contrast, Enfumafungin inhibited this fungal growth for the duration investigated. Both Caspofungin and Enfumafungin caused a decrease in the cell wall β-(1,3)-glucan content with a compensatory increase in the chitin, and to a minor extent they also affected cell wall galactose content. Treatment with these two antifungals did not result in the exposure of β-(1,3)-glucan on A. fumigatus mycelial surface. Enzymatic digestion suggested a modification of β-(1,3)-glucan structure, specifically its branching, upon Enfumafungin treatment. While there was no difference in the immunostimulatory capacity of antifungal treated A. fumigatus conidia, alkali soluble-fractions from Caspofungin treated mycelia weakly stimulated the dendritic cells, possibly due to an increased content of immunosuppressive polysaccharide galactosaminogalactan. Overall, we demonstrate a novel mechanism that Enfumafungin not only inhibits β-(1,3)-glucan synthase activity, but also causes modifications in the structure of β-(1,3)-glucan in the A. fumigatus cell wall.</p>","PeriodicalId":19017,"journal":{"name":"Mycopathologia","volume":"189 5","pages":"86"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142291750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}