Current Medical Mycology
Volume:2 Issue: 1, Mar 2016

Background and Fusarium species are avid producers of secondary toxic and carcinogenic metabolites such as fumonisin. Contamination of food and feed products with fumonisin can be hazardous to the health of humans and animals and may lead to agricultural loss. Accordingly, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of Candida parapsilosis on the growth and fumonisin production of Fusarium species
Mycelial growth rate of 26 Fusarium isolates, including F. verticillioides (n=6), F. proliferatum (n=18), F. solani (n=1), and F. oxysporum (n=1), in the presence of 42 C. parapsilosis strains was investigated by pourplate method. The decline in fumonisin production was measured in co-cultured fungi in coarsely ground maize after four weeks of incubation in the dark at 22°C, using ELISA technique. For data analysis, paired t-test was performed, using SPSS version 20.
The mycelial growth and fumonisin production of Fusarium isolates significantly decreased in the presence of C parapsilosis in comparison with the control cultures (P C. parapsilosis showed notable inhibitory activities against Fusarium isolates. Therefore, this fungal species could be considered as a biocontrol agent against the growth and fumonisin production of toxigenic Fusarium species in the future.

Background and Use of curcumin, as a promising antifungal agent, is considered an alternative treatment for fungal infections; however, the low solubility of this agent limits its efficacy. Accordingly, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activities of dendrosomal nanocurcumin with improved solubility and bioavailability.
The in vitro antifungal activities of several Candida species, including C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, and C. dubliniensis, were evaluated, using the broth microdilution method. In the in vivo study, different doses of nanocurcumin (5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg) were administered to mice with systemic C. albicans infection via intraperitoneal injection. All mice were euthanized at 20 days following the administration of different doses of nanocurcumin. Different organs were extracted for organ culture and histopathological investigation.
Based on the findings, 40 mg/kg of nanocurcumin significantly decreased the fungal load in the evaluated organs; the results were confirmed with histopathological examination. The kidney was found to be the most affected organ with the highest number of severe lesions. Yeasts and pseudohyphae were observed in the blood vessels, kidney, and brain. Also, yeasts were present in the liver, brain, lungs, and heart of the control group.
Although curcumin is generally an excellent antifungal component, its nano-sized form showed more potent properties. Based on the gathered data, dendrosomal nanocurcumin is an effective antifungal agent with good efficacy against disseminated candidiasis. However, further studies are required to evaluate the effects of dendrosomal nanocurcumin on other fungal infections. Also, this agent could be useful for the prevention of fungal infections, such as candidiasis, particularly in high-risk patients.

Background and Soil is the main habitat of saprophytic and pathogenic fungi. Mucormycetes are one of the most parts of soil fungi and certain members are among opportunistic fungi and can cause systemic fungal infections in immunocompromised patients. The majority of human and animal infections are caused by members of the genera Rhizopus, Mucor, Rhizomucor, Lichtheimia (Absidia), Cunninghamella and Mortierella.
The objective of this research was to isolate and identify the main genera of Zygomycetes, using molecular assay and morphological features.
A total of 340 soil samples were collected from different sites of seven public parks and 14 municipality districts in Isfahan. All samples were cultured on appropriate media and incubated at 27° C for 2 to 4 days, and then examined daily for visible fungal growth. PCR-RFLP method and macroscopic, microscopic and physiological characteristics were applied to identify fungal colonies.
Four hundred pure colonies belonging to six genera of Zygomycetes including Lichtheimia, Rhizopus, Rhizomucor, Mucor, Cunninghamella and Mortierella were identified. The genus Rhizopus (35.5%) was the most frequent isolate, followed by Mucor (32.25%) and Rhizomucor (27.5%).
These finding may help us to understand about the importance of opportunistic fungi in public areas and the risk of exposure with immunocompromised persons.

Background and Detection of agents responsible for cutaneous mycosis may be effective in the prevention of fungal infections from environmental and animal sources. With this background in mind, in this study, we aimed to identify the distribution of cutaneous mycotic infections in patients referred to Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran during 2000- 2011.
In total, 8694 patients suspected of superficial and cutaneous mycosis, referred to the Medical Mycology Laboratory of Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran, were recruited during March 2000-2011 and were examined in terms of fungal infections.
Of 8694 suspected patients, 3804 (43.75%) cases suffered from superficial and cutaneous mycosis. In total, 1936 (50.9%) patients were male, and 1868 (49.1%) were female. Malassezia infections 58.1%), dermatophytosis (33.1%), cutaneous candidiasis (6.8%), aspergillosis (1.6%), and saprophytic cutaneous mycosis 0.4%) were the most common infections.
In this study, Malassezia infections were the most common superficial and cutaneous mycoses. Therefore, it seems essential to focus on the prevention of these infections in our society.

Background and Candidiasis is a major fungal infection, and Candida albicans is the major cause of infections in humans. The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) developed new breakpoints for antifungal agents against C. albicans. In this multi-center study, we aimed to determine the drug susceptibility profile of C. albicans, isolated from Iranian population according to new species-specific CLSI.
Clinical samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar and were incubated at room temperature for seven days. The isolates were transferred to Professor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Shiraz, Iran. C. albicans were identified by using API 20C AUX system. Broth microdilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of amphotericin B, caspofungin, voriconazole, fluconazole, posaconazole, itraconazole, and ketoconazole, based on CLSI document M27-S4 and new breakpoints for some azoles and caspofungin.
Overall, 397 C. albicans were isolated from patients admitted to ten university hospitals in Iran. The MIC90 of the isolates to amphotericin B, caspofungin, voriconazole, fluconazole, posaconazole, itraconazole, and ketoconazole were 0.125, 0.125, 0.125, 1, 0.064, 0.5, and 0.125 μg/ml, and rates of resistance were 0.5%, 0.3%, 3.8%, 2.8%, and 2.5% for amphotericin B, caspofungin, voriconazole, fluconazole, and itraconazole, respectively.
According to our data, fluconazole is the drug of choice for management of patients at risk for systemic candidiasis throughout the region, since it is cost-effective with low side effects.

Background and In traditional medicine, herbal products still remain the principal source of pharmaceutical agents. The present study aimed to investigate the antifungal effects of Echinophora platyloba and Rosmarinus officinalis extracts on C. albicans species.
The aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of E. platyloba and R. officinalis, collected from the mountainous regions of Iran, were screened in terms of antimicrobial activity against C. albicans strains, using the agar well diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by the microtitration technique.
Overall, the results showed that the leaf extracts of E. platyloba and R. officinalis had strong antimicrobial activities. Also, based on the findings, R. officinalis leaf extracts exhibited higher antimicrobial activity. The ethanolic leaf extracts of E. platyloba and R. officinalis showed good antimicrobial activity against C. albicans strains. However, the aqueous extracts did not show any major activities against the tested C. albicans strains. On the other hand, the ethanolic extracts exhibited major antimicrobial properties against C. albicans strains. The highest minimum inhibitory concentration was reported in E. platyloba leaf extracts.
The present results indicated some advantages of E. platyloba and R. officinalis leaf extracts, which could be applied for the treatment of microbial infections.

The genus Aspergillus, which consists of a few hundred opportunistic mold species found in various climatic conditions, causes diseases including localized infections, fatal diseases, allergic responses, and inhaled conidia in humans. Herein, we present an overview of the most common diseases and allergic infections caused by Aspergillus species and their associated health hazards in various indoor environments worldwide.

Background and Fusariosis is a fungal infection often involving the skin. Various species can cause local, focally invasive, or disseminated infections. The routes of entry for Fusarium species include the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, toe nails, trauma to the skin, and indwelling central venous catheter.
Case Report: Herein, we present the case of a 35-year-old woman presenting with interdigital intertrigo. The patient had no predisposing factors and she did not take any antifungal agents. Fusiform macroconidia were observed on the slide culture of the fungus. The etiological agent of the infection was identified as Fusarium oxysporum through sequencing of the translation elongation factor-1 alpha (TEF-1α) gene using the primers EF1 and EF2.
Fusariosis commonly presents as a severe fungal infection in immunocompromised patients. However, this infection may also occur in immunocompetent patients. Although treatment with amphotericin B is a routine antifungal therapy for fusariosis, many azoles such as cloterimazole can be used topically with fewer side-effects.