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Annals of Clinical Microbiology and... Feb 2023Dermatophytes have the ability to invade the keratin layer of humans and cause infections. The aims of this study were the accurate identification of dermatophytes by...
Comparison of in vitro activities of newer triazoles and classic antifungal agents against dermatophyte species isolated from Iranian University Hospitals: a multi-central study.
BACKGROUND
Dermatophytes have the ability to invade the keratin layer of humans and cause infections. The aims of this study were the accurate identification of dermatophytes by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism method and sequencing and comparison between the in vitro activities of newer and established antifungal agents against them.
METHODS
Clinical specimens of patients from five Iranian university laboratories were entered in this study. Samples were cultured on sabouraud dextrose agar medium. For molecular identification, extracted DNAs were amplified by the universal fungal primers ITS1 and ITS4, and digested with MvaI enzymes. The antifungal susceptibility test for each isolate to terbinafine, griseofulvin, caspofungin, fluconazole, itraconazole, luliconazole, and isavuconazole was performed, according to the microdilution CLSI M38-A2 and CLSI M61 standard methods.
RESULTS
Two hundred and seven fungi species similar to dermatophytes were isolated of which 198 (95.6%) were dermatophytes by molecular assay. The most commonly isolated were Trichophyton mentagrophytes (76/198), followed by Trichophyton interdigitale (57/198), Trichophyton rubrum (34/198), Trichophyton tonsurans (12/198), Microsporum canis (10/198), Trichophyton simii (3/198), Epidermophyton floccosum (3/198), Trichophyton violaceum (2/198), and Trichophyton benhamiae (1/198). The GM MIC and MIC values for all the isolates were as follows: terbinafine (0.091 and 1 μg/ml), griseofulvin (1.01 and 4 μg/ml), caspofungin (0.06 and 4 μg/ml), fluconazole (16.52 and 32 μg/ml), itraconazole (0.861 and 8 μg/ml), isavuconazole (0.074 and 2 μg/ml), and luliconazole (0.018 and 0.25 μg/ml).
CONCLUSION
Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton interdigitale, and Trichophyton rubrum were the most common fungal species isolated from the patients. luliconazole, terbinafine, and isavuconazole in vitro were revealed to be the most effective antifungal agents against all dermatophyte isolates.
Topics: Humans; Antifungal Agents; Arthrodermataceae; Fluconazole; Itraconazole; Terbinafine; Iran; Caspofungin; Griseofulvin; Hospitals, University; Triazoles
PubMed: 36805670
DOI: 10.1186/s12941-023-00564-4 -
Veterinary World Dec 2022Dermatophytosis is a zoonotic infection of the hair, skin, or nails in animals and humans caused by dermatophytes fungi. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of...
BACKGROUND AND AIM
Dermatophytosis is a zoonotic infection of the hair, skin, or nails in animals and humans caused by dermatophytes fungi. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of dermatophytosis and its associated factors in cats, dogs, and humans in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Skin scraping samples were taken from cats, dogs, and humans with or without skin lesions. In total, 271 samples were collected; 133 from cats, 94 from dogs, and 44 from humans. The collected samples were cultured on dermatophyte test media for fungal isolation and molecular identification.
RESULTS
The prevalence of the disease was 44.36%, 40.43%, and 65.91% in cats, dogs, and humans, respectively. , the most frequently isolated dermatophyte, occurred in 94.92% of cats, 92.11% of dogs, and 100.0% of humans whereas, was only isolated from 5.08% of cats to 7.89% of dogs. Animals and humans at younger ages were more susceptible to the infection. Males were more susceptible than females among animals, while the reverse was true in humans. Housed cats were at higher risk of dermatophytosis than outdoor-reared cats, whereas outdoor-reared dogs were at higher risk of dermatophytosis than indoor-reared dogs. The affected skin in animals and humans is significantly associated with higher prevalence rates of the disease. Contact with infected cats and dogs was associated with increased infection rates in humans. Patients with a history of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were found to be at higher risk of dermatophytosis than those with no history of COVID-19.
CONCLUSION
Awareness should be raised among people about the zoonotic aspect of the disease, especially among those with COVID-19, to avoid contact with cats and dogs, who are at risk of the disease.
PubMed: 36718337
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.2971-2978 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2022It has long been recognized that inflammation to dermatophyte infection is different among various hosts, but the mechanism underlying is still not well understood....
INTRODUCTION
It has long been recognized that inflammation to dermatophyte infection is different among various hosts, but the mechanism underlying is still not well understood. Toll-like receptor (TLR2), mediates the innate immune response against dermatophyte infection and is very important to trigger the inflammatory response to dermatophytes. Considering the different amino acid sequences and structures of TLR2, we speculated that TLR2 from different hosts will activate the downstream signal pathways to varying degrees, resulting in different inflammatory responses to dermatophytes.
METHODS
In this study, we constructed the mice-human fusion TLR2 expressed HaCaT (mhTLR2-HaCaT) by replacing the extracellular ligand recognition region of human TLR2 with that of the mouse. Then hTLR2-HaCaT cells and mhTLR2-HaCaT cells were infected with T. rubrum and M. canis for 24 h followed by immunoblotting to asses associated proteins of p38 and JNK signal pathway.
RESULTS
Compared with that of human TLR2 expressed HaCaT (hTLR2-HaCaT), levels of phosphorylated p38 protein were increased in mhTLR2-HaCaT cells stimulated by T. rubrum for 24 h, and levels of phosphorylatedJNK and c-Jun protein were increased in mhTLR2-HaCaT cells whenstimulated with M. canis for 24 h.
DISCUSSION
Compared with hTLR2-HaCaT cells, p38 and JNK signal pathwayswere activated in mhTLR2-HaCaT after being infected by Trichophyton rubrumand Microsporum canis, respectively. Since p38 and JNK are the mainpathways that transduce the signal for host recognition of dermatophytes andmediate the downstream inflammatory response, it suggested that theinterspecific difference of TLR2 ectodomain may be one of the reasons for thedifferent inflammatory manifestations between humans and mice infected bythese two dermatophytes. Quite especially, the mouse-derived TLR2extracellular recognition region is more effective in recognizing T. rubrum andM. canis to activate the downstream signal pathways, resulting in a tenserinflammatory response against these two dermatophytes.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Mice; Arthrodermataceae; Toll-Like Receptor 2; Signal Transduction; Dermatomycoses
PubMed: 36713403
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1063443 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2023Cymbopogon species essential oil (EO) carries significant importance in pharmaceuticals, aromatherapy, food, etc. The chemical compositions of Cymbopogon spp. Viz....
Cymbopogon species essential oil (EO) carries significant importance in pharmaceuticals, aromatherapy, food, etc. The chemical compositions of Cymbopogon spp. Viz. Cymbopogon winterianus (citronella) Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass), and Cymbopogon martini (palmarosa) were analyzed by gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC-MS), enantiomeric distribution by chiral GC-MS, and antimicrobial activities of some selected pure major compound and root and leaves EOs of citronella. The EO of leaves of Cymbopogon spp. showed comparatively higher yield than roots or other parts. Contrary to citral (neral and geranial) being a predominant compound of Cymbopogon spp., α-elemol (53.1%), α-elemol (29.5%), geraniol (37.1%), and citral (90.4%) were detected as major compounds of the root, root hair with stalk, leaf, and root stalk with shoot of citronella EO, respectively. Palmarosa leaves’ EO contains neral (36.1%) and geranial (53.1) as the major compounds. In the roots of palmarosa EO, the prime components were α-elemol (31.5%), geranial (25.0%), and neral (16.6%). Similarly, lemongrass leaves’ EO contains geraniol (76.6%) and geranyl acetate (15.2%) as major compounds, while the root EO contains a higher amount of geraniol (87.9%) and lower amount of geranyl acetate (4.4%). This study reports for the first time chiral terpenoids from Cymbopogon spp. EOs. Chiral GC-MS gave specific enantiomeric distributions of nine, six, and five chiral terpenoids in the root, root stalk with a shoot, and leaves of citronella EOs, respectively. Likewise, four and three chiral terpenoids in the root and leaves of lemongrass oil followed by two chiral terpenoids in the leaves and root of palmarosa EOs each. Additionally, the root and leaves’ EOs of citronella exhibit noticeable activity on bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptococcus pyogenes and fungus such as Candida albicans, Microsporum canis, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. So, geranial-, neral-, geraniol-, and citronellal-rich EOs can be used as an alternative antimicrobial agent.
Topics: Oils, Volatile; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Cymbopogon; Nepal; Anti-Infective Agents
PubMed: 36677603
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28020543 -
Development, preparation, and evaluation of a novel non-adjuvanted polyvalent dermatophytes vaccine.Scientific Reports Jan 2023Ringworm is a worldwide distributed contagious disease infecting both man and animals that constitute an economic, zoonotic, and health problem concern all over the...
Ringworm is a worldwide distributed contagious disease infecting both man and animals that constitute an economic, zoonotic, and health problem concern all over the world. During the last decade, attention has been directed to vaccination as an ideal approach to the control of such diseases. In the present study, non-adjuvanted polyvalent vaccines were prepared from locally isolated hot and virulent dermatophyte species, namely Trichophyton verrucosum (T. verrucosum), Trichophyton mentagrophytes (T. mentagrophytes), and Microsporum canis (M. canis) were immunologically evaluated. The prepared vaccine evaluation was focused on the aspects of immunogenicity and protective efficacy using guinea pigs. Both in its living or inactivated forms, the vaccine-induced significant humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and achieve proper protection of guinea pigs against challenging infections with homologous and heterologous dermatophyte strains. On the other hand, investigations on dermatophyte exo-keratinases showed that it was better produced and more expressed in a mineral-based medium containing pure keratin (3 g/L) than in the same medium with human hair supplementation (2.6 g/L). The maximum dermatophyte productivity of exo-keratinases was found to be between 18 and 21 days post-incubation. Using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), two fractions with molecular weights of 40 kDa (fraction I) and 28 kDa (fraction II) have been identified in the culture filtrate of the three involved dermatophyte species. Both fractions demonstrated keratinolytic activity. The specific activity of the isolated keratinases (number of Keratinase units (KU)/mg protein) was stronger in fraction I, where it reached 18.75, 15.38, and 14 KU/mg protein as compared to 12.9, 8.74, and 12 KU/mg protein in fraction II of T. verrucosum, T. mentagrophytes, and M. canis, respectively. The dermatophyte exo-keratinases proved to be immunogenic as they stimulated high keratinase-specific antibody titers and induced strong delayed skin hypersensitivity reactions in vaccinated animals. Anti-keratinase-specific IgG was detected in sera of guinea pigs immunized with the inactivated or living polyvalent dermatophyte vaccines by a homemade enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using dermatophyte exo-keratinases as coating antigen. The intradermal injection of dermatophyte exo-keratinases induced specific delayed skin reactions in guinea pigs immunized with the inactivated or the living polyvalent dermatophyte vaccines. The intradermal injection of dermatophyte exo-keratinases in the control non-sensitized guinea pigs was associated with itching, swelling, and bloody scar formation, however, no skin indurations were formed. The development of those post-exo-keratinases injection reactions in the control non-sensitized apparently healthy guinea pigs group, suggests an exo-keratinases possible role in the pathogenesis of dermatophytosis.
Topics: Male; Humans; Animals; Guinea Pigs; Arthrodermataceae; Dermatomycoses; Vaccines, Combined; Microsporum
PubMed: 36599863
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26567-3 -
Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) Dec 2022is an important zoonotic fungus that causes dermatophytosis in domestic animals and their owners. Domestic cats are the primary reservoir for . Antifungal drugs...
is an important zoonotic fungus that causes dermatophytosis in domestic animals and their owners. Domestic cats are the primary reservoir for . Antifungal drugs frequently produce adverse effects on the host animal, increasing the demand for novel alternative treatments derived from nature. We evaluated the antifungal activity of essential oil (CEO) and ethanolic extracts (CEE) against in planktonic and biofilm growth. Twelve clinical isolates of were identified in feline dermatophyte samples. Using GC-MS, 18 compounds were identified in CEO, with carvacrol being the major constituent. HPLC analysis of CEE revealed that it contained rosmarinic acid, apigenin, and caffeic acid. The planktonic growth of all isolates was inhibited by extracts. The minimum inhibitory concentration at which ≥50% of the isolates were inhibited (MIC) was 128 µg/mL (32-256 µg/mL) for both CEO and CEE. The MIC values of CEO and CEE were 128 and 256 µg/mL, respectively. CEO at MIC (128 µg/mL) and 2× MIC (256 µg/mL) significantly inhibited the biofilm formation of weak, moderate, and strong biofilm-producing . CEE at 2× MIC (256 µg/mL) significantly inhibited the biofilm formation of all isolates. Overall, extracts inhibited planktonic growth and exhibited a significant antibiofilm effect against . Thus, is a potential source of natural antifungal compounds.
PubMed: 36551390
DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11121734 -
Veterinary Medicine and Science Jan 2023Dermatophytosis is a zoonotic disease caused by a group of keratinophilic fungi called dermatophytes.
INTRODUCTION
Dermatophytosis is a zoonotic disease caused by a group of keratinophilic fungi called dermatophytes.
OBJECTIVES
Since the epidemiology of diseases revolves over time, this research studies the incidence of dermatophytosis among rodents referred to mycology laboratory during 2019-2021.
METHODS
A total of 163 rodents including rabbits, guinea pigs, and hamsters suspecting having dermatophytosis were sampled by scraping lesions. Direct microscopic examination, culture, and polymerase chain reaction were done for diagnosis of dermatophytosis and identification of the etiologic agent.
RESULTS
The results of this study showed that 37.4% of rodents were involved with dermatophytosis, among which 41.13% of rabbits, 25% of guinea pigs, and 26.3% of hamsters were included. Microsporum canis (52.7%) was the most isolated agent. Incidence of dermatophytosis was higher in female in rabbits while in hamsters and guinea pigs male were mostly infected. Rodents less than 6 months were more susceptible for dermatophytosis except for hamsters in which 6-12 months animals had a higher prevalence.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is significant to update our knowledge about the epidemiology of dermatophytosis in rodents and other animals every few years to define valid preventive strategies. Moreover, since dermatophytes are contagious and zoonotic, it is also a priority to apply preventing methods for dermatophytosis and treat infected rodents with appropriate antifungal agents to decrease the risk of infection.
Topics: Cricetinae; Male; Animals; Female; Guinea Pigs; Rabbits; Rodentia; Zoonoses; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; Tinea
PubMed: 36495207
DOI: 10.1002/vms3.1044 -
Medical Mycology Journal 2022Two pediatric cases of Microsporum canis infection that occurred in a cat breeder family and the isolation of dermatophytes from their 166 breeding cats are reported....
Two pediatric cases of Microsporum canis infection that occurred in a cat breeder family and the isolation of dermatophytes from their 166 breeding cats are reported. The patients were a 16-month-old girl and her 26-month-old sister who both had tinea capitis. Their family consisted of six members: the sisters, their great-grandmother, grandmother, grandfather, and mother. Except for the two sisters, the family had no history of skin lesions. The grandmother had been a cat breeder for 20 years. We tested the cats using the hairbrush technique, and 56 of the 158 cats (35%) tested were positive for M. canis. In particular, cultures performed from 4 cats developed M. canis colonies that grew densely from all spikes on the hairbrush. On the basis of observations of the cultures, cutaneous infection was suspected when five or more colonies grew on a single plate medium (9 cats), whereas growth of fewer colonies was thought to suggest saprophytic colonization on cat hair. M. canis is known to be highly transmittable among cats, but 65% of the cats investigated remained negative. It was thus considered possible to prevent further spread of infection by practicing basic infection control and improving the environment.
Topics: Female; Animals; Cats; Microsporum; Tinea Capitis
PubMed: 36450566
DOI: 10.3314/mmj.22-00015 -
Journal of Infection in Developing... Nov 2022Dermatophytoses are superficial mycoses, and the identification of their etiological agents is routinely performed by culture and microscopic features, which is...
INTRODUCTION
Dermatophytoses are superficial mycoses, and the identification of their etiological agents is routinely performed by culture and microscopic features, which is time-consuming and relies on personnel expertise. Molecular approaches have been developed to provide faster and reliable results; therefore, this study aimed to identify dermatophytes isolated from Alagoas state patients, employing phenotypical and molecular methods.
METHODOLOGY
Clinical samples for morphological identification were collected from private and public laboratories and cultivated on Sabouraud dextrose agar. DNA extraction was followed by ITS amplicon analysis after restriction enzyme digestion DdeI (ITS-RFLP).
RESULTS
Out of fourteen representative strains, ITS-RFLP with DdeI efficiently identified Microsporum canis, Nannizzia gypsea, and Trichophyton rubrum, while species of the complex T. tonsurans/T. mentagrophytes presented the same restriction pattern. After genotyping, 2 T. tonsurans and 1 Microsporum sp. strain were reclassified as T. rubrum.
CONCLUSIONS
RFLP of ITS-region followed by DdeI digestion produced faster and relatively reliable results than classic methods; however, this method has not been as efficient for closely related dermatophytes cryptic species.
Topics: Humans; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Arthrodermataceae; Brazil; Dermatomycoses; Culture Media
PubMed: 36449651
DOI: 10.3855/jidc.17077 -
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) Oct 2022Pets are increasingly becoming part of the family and interactions between pets and their owners is changing. This results in extended and more intimate contact between...
BACKGROUND
Pets are increasingly becoming part of the family and interactions between pets and their owners is changing. This results in extended and more intimate contact between owners and their pets, which give rise to zoonotic risks.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the presence of potential zoonotic pathogens in pets that sleep with their owner.
METHODS
As a pilot study, a group of 28 healthy dogs and 22 healthy cats were monitored for the presence of the zoonotic parasites Cheyletiella, spp. and spp., the dermatophyte , and the bacteria , spp., and Enterobacteriaceae. This was investigated by taking samples from the fur, the footpads and the animal bed. The owners filled in a questionnaire.
RESULTS
In total, 29 of the 50 pets (58%) slept on the bed, of which 15 pets (30%) slept in the bed (under the blankets). A total of 19/22 dogs (86%) and 7/22 cats (32%) tested positive for Enterobacteriaceae on the fur or footpads. Fleas were found in 5/22 of the cats' (23%) and 2/28 of the dogs' (7%) favourite sleeping spots. High levels of aerobic colonies were found, up to 216 colony forming units/cm. Other pathogens were not found in this study.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of this preliminary study confirm literature reports that pets may constitute a potential risk in the transmission of zoonotic pathogens to their owner, especially during direct contact when sleeping in the same bed. Owners should therefore be informed about these risks and educated to interact with their pets in a more responsible way.
PubMed: 36297206
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11101149