An unusual manifestation of an HIV patient with Fungimea presenting with Cryptococcal Lymphadenitis

Introduction@#Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans) is a fungus which infects the lungs, meninges, skin and the nervous system. In tropical countries prevalent with tuberculosis (TB), initial clinical presentations of a C. neoformans infection can normally be mistaken as a TB infection. The C. neoformans infection shall then form part of the differential diagnosis. Exposure to C. neoformans does not usually manifest as an infection however, in immunocompromised patients this results to cryptococcosis.@*Case@#This is a case of a 33-year-old male who was admitted due to febrile seizures. He was suspected to be in an immunocompromised state due to multiple sexual partners. A non-tender, mobile left cervical lymphadenopathy was subjected to FNAB (fine needle aspiration biopsy) surprisingly came out to be cryptococcal in nature. He was managed as a case of disseminated cryptococossis with meningeal extension. He was given amphotericin B and fluconazole.@*Conclusion@#The most common suspected cause of lymphadenitis in the Philippines is attributed to TB. The high index of suspicion based on sound medical history and physical examination can lead the clinician into considering an uncommon cause of lymphadenopathy most especially in patients with high likelihood of immunocompromised state.

Novel antifungal agents against cryptococcal infections / 药学学报

Cryptococcal meningitis, caused by fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, is responsible for over a million infections and 600 000 deaths annually. Largely due to the limited treatment options and the intrinsic drawbacks coupled with drug resistance to current therapies, it is urgent to discover novel antifungal agents against cryptococcosis. An ideal antifungal drug should at least satisfy the following criteria: fungicidal, fungus-specific, permeable for the host barriers such as cell membranes of phagocytes and the blood-CNS barrier. Both discovery of candidates with novel mode of action and repurposing existing molecules with potent anti-cryptococcal activity are effective ways in discovery of new anti-cryptococcal agents. Here, we summarized recent advances in the study of anti-fungal activities, mechanisms of action, and clinical developments of new anti-cryptococcal drugs.

Virulence analysis between environmental and clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubü based on microsatellite patterns / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the genetic relation between Cryptococcus neoformans var.the clinical strains in MLMT - 13 genotype and the environmental strains in MLMT - 36 genotype. Methods Multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) method was applied for the genotype analysis in our study.Through this method, we recognized two genotypes that distinguish a majority of clinical and environmental strains. In order to compare virulence between the two types, we chose to infect BALB/c mice (6 weeks,female) with 9 MLMT-13 strains and 10 MLMT-36 strains intravenously. Results Forty( 17 clinical and 23 environmental isolates) were analyzed. Of 17 clinical strains, 9 belonged to a major type of MLMT-13 (52.9%). They were mainly isolated from clinical specimens. About 43.5% of strains from the environment belong to a major type of MLMT-36, which are indigenous to environments and which were not isolated from clinical samples. The mortality rate and pathological changes of the above mice were observed during two months after injection. The results showed that the mortality rate of mice infected with MLMT-13 strains was 100%, while the mortality rate with MLMT-36 strains was 7. 5%. The pathological sections showed that lesions of MLMT-13 infected mice appeared in the brain, lungs, liver and kidneys, while the lesions of MLMT-36 infected mice only appeared in the brain. Most brains of MLMT-13 infected mice were distorted,and both the number and size of lesions in such brains were much larger than those of MLMT-36 infected mice. Conclusion Our study illustrated the virulent difference between MLMT-13 and MLMT-36, which are isolated from patients and environment respectively. The results inferred that some genetic changes, such ss microsatellite repeats, might occur between environmental and clinical isolates through their environmental adaptation progress.

Cryptococcus spp. en Venezuela y su relación con el biotipo del MicroScan® / Cryptococcus spp. in Venezuela and its relationship with the MicroScan® biotype

El lector del panel microbiológico automatizado autoScan®-4 detecta el crecimiento del hongo en diversos sustratos bioquímicos, presentes en los pozos de los paneles del MicroScan®. El propósito de este estudio fue relacionar el ¨biotipo¨ identificado por el MicroScan® con la especie causante de criptococosis, con el objeto de permitir una identificación en el menor tiempo posible. Se evaluaron 82 cepas de Cryptococcus spp. aisladas a partir de muestras clínicas entre 1995 y 2004. Para garantizar la pureza de las cepas, se realizó la identificación de las mismas por métodos convencionales; para identificar las especies se utilizó el medio L-canavanina-glicina-azul de bromotimol (CGB). Se utilizó también el panel de identificación rápida de levaduras del MicroScan®, con el fin de determinar el ¨biotipo¨. El MicroScan® reveló 27 diferentes ¨biotipos¨. De los 82 aislados tipificados con el uso del medio CGB, el 91,46 % correspondieron a C. neoformans y 8,54 % a C. gattii. No se encontró una diferencia significativa entre los ¨biotipos¨ y las especies (p>0,05). Sin embargo, se encontró significancia estadística entre las especies C. gattii y C. neoformans y la asimilación de p-nitrofenil-N-acetil-ß-D-glucosamina (NAG) (p<0,05). El panel de identificación rápida de levaduras del MicroScan® no fue capaz de diferenciar ambas especies.

The automated reader of the AutoScan® -4 microbiological panels detects fungi growth in various biological substrates present in the MicroScan® panel wells. The purpose of this study was to relate the biotype identified by the MicroScan® with the species causing the criptococcosis, in order to obtain identification in the shortest possible period. The evaluation included 82 Cryptococcus spp. strains isolated from clinical samples between 1995 and 2004. To guarantee the purity of the strains they were also identified by conventional methods; to identify the species we used L-canavanin-glycine-bromthymol blue medium (CGB). We also used the fast yeast identification MicroScan® panel with the purpose of determining the “biotype”. The MicroScan® revealed 27 different “biotypes”. Of the 82 isolates typed with the CGB medium, 91.46% corresponded to C. neoformans and 8.5% to C. gattii. No significant difference was found among the “biotypes” and the species (p<0,05). Nevertheless, there was a statistically significant difference between the assimilation of p-nitrophenil-N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosamine (NAG) (p<0.05) by the C. gattii and the C. neoformans species. The fast yeast identification MicroScan® panel was not able to differentiate between both species.

In Vitro Activities of LY303366 against Clinical Isolates of Candida spp., Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus spp / 감염

BACKGROUND: Fungal infection became more prevalent with the increase of compromised patients, requiring less toxic potent antifungal agents. LY303366, a new semisynthetic antifungal agent of echinocandin class, was reported to be active against Candida spp. and filamentous fungi. METHODS: In vitro activities of LY303366 were determined against clinical isolates of fungi by NCCLS broth microdilution test using RPMI 1640 medium. RESULTS: MIC90s of LY303366 were 0.03 microgram/mL for C. albicans, 2 microgram/mL for C. parapsilosis, 0.12 microgram/mL for C. tropicalis. LY303366 was more active against C. albicans and C. tropicalis than amphotericin B, 5-fluorocytosine, or fluconazole. It was less active than other agents against C. neoformans. MIC range of LY303366 against Aspergillus spp. was 8->16 microgram/mL. CONCLUSION: Very high in vitro activity of LY303366 against recent clinical isolates of Candida spp. including fluconazole resistant ones, suggests its usefulness for the treatment of candidal infections.