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Indian Journal of Ophthalmology Oct 2022To study the risk factors, clinical presentation, management options, and outcomes in cases of culture-proven Acremonium keratitis.
PURPOSE
To study the risk factors, clinical presentation, management options, and outcomes in cases of culture-proven Acremonium keratitis.
METHODS
Medical and microbiology records of culture-proven Acremonium keratitis from Jan 2007 to Dec 2019 at a tertiary eye care center were reviewed. Details of clinical findings on each visit and operating notes were reviewed from the medical records. All cases were subjected to corneal scraping at the first visit for microbiological investigation consisting of direct smear examination and culture. Topical natamycin 5% was the mainstay of medical treatment. Surgical treatment was considered for nonresponding patients.
RESULTS
During the 13-year study period, 65 cases of culture-proven Acremonium keratitis were identified out of 1605 cases of fungal keratitis. Trauma was the most common predisposing factor in 32 cases (49.2%). The average area of the corneal stromal infiltrate was 24.8 mm at the initial presentation. Hypopyon at the time of presentation was evident in 28 (43.1%) cases. Staphylococcus spp. was the most common (n = 22, 33.8%) organism coexistent with Acremonium. Direct microscopy of corneal scraping was positive for fungal filaments in 57/65 (87.6%) cases. Medical management alone was given in 44 patients (67.6%). Age (>50 years) and treatment delay (>15 days) were found to be independent risk factors for the poor final visual outcome (VA <20/60).
CONCLUSION
When treated early, Acremonium keratitis responds well to medical therapy with currently available topical antifungals. However, advanced and nonresponding cases require surgical intervention for resolution of the infection.
Topics: Acremonium; Antifungal Agents; Corneal Diseases; Eye Infections, Fungal; Humans; Keratitis; Middle Aged; Natamycin; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors
PubMed: 36190039
DOI: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_659_22 -
Microbiology Spectrum Apr 2022Verticillium dahliae could cause destructive vascular wilt disease on hundreds of plant species around the world, including cotton. In this study, we characterized the...
Verticillium dahliae could cause destructive vascular wilt disease on hundreds of plant species around the world, including cotton. In this study, we characterized the function of a hydrophobin gene in pathogen development and pathogenicity. Results showed that could induce cell death and activate plant immune responses. The deletion mutants () and the complement mutants () were obtained by the homologous recombination method. The deletion mutants exhibited increased hydrophilicity, inhibited microsclerotial formation, and reduced spore smoothness. In addition, the deletion mutants were more sensitive to NaCl, while relatively insensitive to KCl and sorbitol. Mutants also had greater resistance to Congo red, UV radiation, and high temperature, which suggested that strains have stronger resistance to abiotic stress in general. Different carbon source assays showed that the utilization ability of skim milk, cellulose, and starch was greatly enhanced in , compared with that of WT and complemented strains. Furthermore, did not affect mycelium penetration on cellophane but contributed to mycelium growth on surface of the living plant cells. The pathogenicity test found that the crude toxin content, colonization, and dispersal of was significantly increased compared with the WT and complementary strains. In addition, cotton seedlings showed more severe wilting symptoms after inoculation with strains. These results suggested that the hydrophobin negatively regulated the virulence of V. dahliae, and played an important role in development, adaptability, and pathogenicity in V. dahliae, which maybe provide a new viewpoint to further understand the molecular mechanisms of pathogen virulence. Verticillium dahliae is a soilborne fungal pathogen that causes a destructive vascular disease on a large number of plant hosts, resulting in great threat to agricultural production. In this study, it was illustrated that the hydrophobin VdHP1 could induce cell death and activate plant immune responses. VdHP1 affected the hydrophobicity of V. dahliae, and negatively regulated the strains resistant to stress, and the utilization ability of different carbon sources. In addition, VdHP1 did not affect mycelium penetration on cellophane but contributed to mycelium growth on surface of the living plant cells. The gene negatively regulated the total virulence, colonization, and dispersal of V. dahliae, with enhanced pathogenicity of mutant strains in this gene. These results suggested that the hydrophobin VdHP1 played an importance in development, adaptability, and pathogenicity in V. dahliae, and would provide a new viewpoint to further understand the molecular mechanisms of pathogen virulence.
Topics: Acremonium; Carbon; Cellophane; Fungal Proteins; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; Plant Diseases; Plants; Verticillium
PubMed: 35377232
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02478-21 -
The Egyptian Journal of Internal... 2023Unusual fungal agents that exist environmentally as saprophytes can often lead to opportunistic infections, hyalohyphomycosis is a group of fungal infections caused by...
Unusual fungal agents that exist environmentally as saprophytes can often lead to opportunistic infections, hyalohyphomycosis is a group of fungal infections caused by fungi characterized by hyaline septate hyphae and can infect both immunocompetent as well as immunocompromised patients, and has drawn the attention of clinicians and microbiologists, as a potential pathogen in patients with and without underlying risk factors. It has also been increasingly implicated in systemic fungal diseases. Herein, we describe a case presentation of an immunocompromised patient with fungal brain abscesses due to species.
PubMed: 36741047
DOI: 10.1186/s43162-022-00183-z -
Journal of Fungi (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2023The incidence of invasive sino-pulmonary diseases due to non- hyaline molds is increasing due to an enlarging and evolving population of immunosuppressed hosts as well... (Review)
Review
The incidence of invasive sino-pulmonary diseases due to non- hyaline molds is increasing due to an enlarging and evolving population of immunosuppressed hosts as well as improvements in the capabilities of molecular-based diagnostics. Herein, we review the following opportunistic pathogens known to cause sinopulmonary disease, the most common manifestation of hyalohyphomycosis: spp., spp., , spp., spp., spp., , , species complex, , and species. To facilitate an understanding of the epidemiology and clinical features of sino-pulmonary hyalohyphomycoses in the context of host immune impairment, we utilized a host-based approach encompassing the following underlying conditions: neutropenia, hematologic malignancy, hematopoietic and solid organ transplantation, chronic granulomatous disease, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, cystic fibrosis, and healthy individuals who sustain burns, trauma, or iatrogenic exposures. We further summarize the pre-clinical and clinical data informing antifungal management for each pathogen and consider the role of adjunctive surgery and/or immunomodulatory treatments to optimize patient outcome.
PubMed: 36836326
DOI: 10.3390/jof9020212 -
Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology Sep 2016is an important filamentous fungus which produces cephalosporin C in industry. This review summarized the study on genetic engineering of , including biosynthesis and... (Review)
Review
is an important filamentous fungus which produces cephalosporin C in industry. This review summarized the study on genetic engineering of , including biosynthesis and regulation for fermentation of cephalosporin C, molecular techniques, molecular breeding and transcriptomics of . We believe with all the techniques available and full genomic sequence, the industrial strain of can be genetically modified to better serve the pharmaceutical industry.
PubMed: 29062938
DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2016.09.002 -
PloS One 2022Multifunctional drugs have shown great promise in biomedicine. Organisms with antimicrobial and anticancer activity in combination with antioxidant activity need further...
Multifunctional drugs have shown great promise in biomedicine. Organisms with antimicrobial and anticancer activity in combination with antioxidant activity need further research. The Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf coasts were randomly sampled to find fungi with multifunctional activity. One hundred strains (98 fungi and 2 lichenized forms) were isolated from 15 locations. One-third of the isolates inhibited clinical bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi, S. paratyphi) and fungal pathogens (Talaromycets marneffei, Malassezia globose, Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus) and four cancer cell lines (Hep G2 liver, A-549 lung, A-431skin, MCF 7 breast cancer). Bacterial and cancer inhibition was often accompanied by a high antioxidant activity, as indicated by the principal component analysis (PCA). PCA also indicated that fungal and bacterial pathogens appeared to be inhibited mostly by different marine fungal isolates. Strains with multifunctional activity were found more from the Rea Sea than from the Arabian Gulf coasts. The highest potential for multifunctional drugs were observed for Acremonium sp., Acrocalymma sp., Acrocalymma africana, Acrocalymma medicaginis (activity reported for the first time), Aspergillus sp. Cladosporium oxysporum, Emericellopsis alkaline, Microdochium sp., and Phomopsis glabrae. Lung, skin, and breast cancers were inhibited 85%-97% by Acremonium sp, while most of the isolates showed low inhibition (ca 20%). The highest antifungal activity was observed for Acremonium sp., Diaporthe hubeiensis, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, and Nannizia gypsea. One Acremonium sp. is of particular interest to offer a multifunctional drug; it displayed both antifungal and antibacterial activity combined with high antioxidant activity (DPPH scavenging 97%). A. medicaginis displayed combined antibacterial, anticancer, and antioxidant activity being of high interest. Several genera and some species included strains with both high and low biological activities pointing out the need to study several isolates to find the most efficient strains for biomedical applications.
Topics: Humans; Female; Antioxidants; Antifungal Agents; Breast Neoplasms; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Acremonium
PubMed: 36441723
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276926 -
Marine Drugs Dec 2023Four new compounds, including two ascochlorin-type meroterpenoids acremocholrins A () and B (), one pyridone alkaloid acremopyridone A (), and one cyclopentenone...
Four new compounds, including two ascochlorin-type meroterpenoids acremocholrins A () and B (), one pyridone alkaloid acremopyridone A (), and one cyclopentenone derivative acremoketene A (), together with eight known compounds (- and -), were isolated and identified from the hadal trench-derived fungus YP-213. Their structures were determined with a detailed spectroscopic analysis of NMR and MS data, NOE analysis, octant rule and quantum chemical calculations of ECD, and NMR (with DP4+ probability analysis). Among the compounds, represent a novel scaffold derived from a pyridone alkaloid by cleavage of the C-16-C-17 bond following oxidation to give a ketone. Compounds , , and showed potent in vivo anti-inflammatory activity in transgenic zebrafish, while compound exhibited significant proangiogenic activity in transgenic zebrafish.
Topics: Animals; Zebrafish; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Fungi; Pyridones; Alkaloids; Acremonium
PubMed: 38248650
DOI: 10.3390/md22010025 -
Journal of Fungi (Basel, Switzerland) Mar 2022() was developed as a microbial cell factory for the heterologous expression of fungal secondary metabolites. This was achieved by inactivation of sorbicillinoid...
() was developed as a microbial cell factory for the heterologous expression of fungal secondary metabolites. This was achieved by inactivation of sorbicillinoid biosynthesis and construction of vectors for the rapid cloning and expression of heterologous fungal biosynthetic genes. Two types of megasynth(et)ases were used to test the strain and vectors, namely a non-reducing polyketide synthase (nr-PKS, ) from and a hybrid highly-reducing PKS non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (hr-PKS-NRPS, ) from . The resulting engineered strains were able to produce the expected natural products 3-methylorcinaldehyde and pretenellin A on waste materials including potato, orange, banana and kiwi peels and barley straw. Developing as a heterologous host for secondary metabolite production represents a new method for waste valorization by the direct conversion of waste biomass into secondary metabolites.
PubMed: 35448586
DOI: 10.3390/jof8040355 -
Biology Dec 2023Environmental pollutants such as toxic heavy metals and oxygen-demanding solids are generated by leather manufacturing. In most tanneries, wastewaters are treated with...
Environmental pollutants such as toxic heavy metals and oxygen-demanding solids are generated by leather manufacturing. In most tanneries, wastewaters are treated with physico-chemical methods but overly high levels of pollutants remain in surface waters. The efficiency of tanning wastewater treatment with conventional techniques was evaluated in four tanneries in Saudi Arabia. It was observed that the wastewaters contained high amounts of pollutants, needing further treatment. We isolated microorganisms from the wastewaters and carried out experiments to treat the effluents with different bacteria, fungi, and their consortia. We hypothesized that a consortium of microorganisms is more efficient than the single microorganisms in the consortium. The efficiency of five single bacterial and five fungal species from different genera was tested. In a consortium experiment, the efficiency of nine bacterial-fungal consortia was studied. The bacterium and the fungus sp. were the most efficient in the single-microbe treatment. In the consortium treatment, the consortium of these two was the most efficient at treating the effluent. The factory wastewater treatment reduced total dissolved solids (TDS) from 1885 mg/L to 880 mg/L. treatment reduced TDS to 150 mg/L and sp. to 140 mg/L. The consortium of these two reduced TDS further to 80 mg/L. Moreover, the factory treatment reduced BOD from 943 mg/L to 440 mg/L, to 75 mg/L, and sp. 70 mg/L. The consortium reduced BOD further to 20 mg/L. The total heavy-metal concentration (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, and Pb) was reduced by the factory treatment from 43 μg/L to 26 μg/L and by the consortium to 0.2 μg/L. The collagen concentration that was studied using hydroxyproline assay decreased from 120 mg/L to 39 mg/L. It was shown that the consortium of the bacterium and the fungus sp. was more efficient in reducing the pollutants than the single species. The consortium reduced almost all parameters to below the environmental regulation limit for wastewater discharge to the environment in Saudi Arabia. The consortium should be studied further as an additional treatment to the existing conventional tannery wastewater treatments.
PubMed: 38132333
DOI: 10.3390/biology12121507 -
Allergologie Select 2018Allergic skin and respiratory diseases range among the most frequent afflictions in industrialized countries. Due to this fact the importance of indoor mold pollution... (Review)
Review
Allergic skin and respiratory diseases range among the most frequent afflictions in industrialized countries. Due to this fact the importance of indoor mold pollution based on dampness is discussed. In a sentinel health study of the State Health Agency (LGA) children attending of 4th grade of a primary school were tested by an in-vitro allergy screening (UniCap 100/Phadia) for the mold allergens mx1 (Penicillium chrysogenum m1, Cladosporium herbarum m2, Aspergillus fumigatus m3 and Alternaria alternata m6). Primarily about 5% of the children were sensitized against molds which are associated with the ambient air. The investigations showed that most of the children were sensitized against Alternaria alternata and concerning the IgE-concentration (kU/l) Alternaria alternata had the highest concentration among the tested allergens. Commonly children with sensitization against molds were polysensitized. It is unclear if the allergy screening against mold mx1 includes molds with indication for indoor mold pollution such as Acremonium spp., Aspergillus penicillioides, Aspergillus restrictus, Aspergillus versicolor, Chaetomium spp., Phialophora spp., Stachybotrys chartarum, Tritirachium (Engyodontium) album und Trichoderma spp. by means of crossreaction. Therefore, such investigations do not admit any conclusion about health problems as a result of indoor mold pollution. At the present state of knowledge exposure measurements of indoor mold pollutions are not possible, at most a semiquantitative assessment. Although it is generally accepted that dwellings with moisture and mold represent a health risk, knowledge about indoor mold pollution and the related health problems is lacking.
PubMed: 31826039
DOI: 10.5414/ALX01296E