فهرست مطالب

Current Medical Mycology
Volume:3 Issue: 4, Dec 2017

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1396/10/10
  • تعداد عناوین: 6
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  • Maryam Noori, Mohammad Dakhili, Asghar Sepahvand *, Nader Davari Pages 1-5
    Background and
    Purpose
    Annually affecting millions of women, vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is commonly described by signs and symptoms of vulvovaginal inflammation in the presence of Candida species. Today, the detection of the virulence factors plays a major role in the understanding of pathogenesis of candidiasis and helps produce new anticandidial drugs to improve its treatment efficiency. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the esterase and hemolysin activities of the vaginal isolates of Candida and their relationship with the presence of VVC.
    Materials And Methods
    One-hundred vaginal clinical specimens were randomly collected during September-December 2016. The target population consisted of married women suspected of VVC who presented to health centers in Lorestan Province, Iran. In this study, the esterase activity and hemolysin production of Candida clinical isolates were evaluated using the Tween 80 opacity test and the plate assay, respectively.
    Results
    The most frequent Candida species was C. albicans (66; 66%), followed by C. glabrata (11; 11%) and C. tropicalis (11; 11%). The highest esterase activity was found in C. krusei (75%), followed by C. albicans (68.2%) and C. glabrata (54.5%). The greater part of the positive esterase isolates had Pz 4 scores. Among the Candida species, C. albicans (22.7%), C. glabrata (63.6%), and C. krusei (50%) were found to have the highest rates of alpha, beta, and gamma hemolysin production, respectively. The level of hemolytic activity in 51% of the Candida species was Pz 4 scores.
    Conclusion
    According to our results, the higher expression rates of both enzymes in C. albicans species relative to those of non-albicans Candidate species can partly reflect the role of the virulence factors involved in C. albicans pathogenicity.
    Keywords: Candida albicans, Esterase, Hemolysin, Vulvovaginal candidiasis, Virulence factor
  • Nagesh Simhadri *, Muthuchamy Muniappan, Iyanar Kannan, Subramanyam Viswanathan Pages 6-14
    Background and
    Purpose
    Soleshine is a polyherbal preparation established in the market for the treatment of cracks and tinea pedis, which is applied externally. This preparation is composed of the extracts of indigenous plants, namely Azadirachta indica, Lawsonia alba, and Shorea robusta, mixed with castor oil and sesame oil. In the present study, an attempt was made to identify the constituents of soleshine and identify some potential drug-like molecules that can inhibit important drug targets of the dermatophytes using molecular docking method.
    Materials And Methods
    The active ingredients of polyherbal preparation were identified with the aid of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Two major compounds were selected based on the retention time and percentage of the area covered in the graph for docking study. The three-dimensional structures of 1,3-β-glucan synthase, chitinase, fungalysin, and lumazine synthase were derived by homology modelling using MODELLER software, version 9.0. The docking of the ligand and receptor was performed using iGEMDOCK and AutodockVina software. The physicochemical properties, lipophilicity, hydrophilicity, and drug likeness properties were obtained from the Swiss ADME online server tool.
    Results
    The GC-MS analysis demonstrated the presence of different phytochemical compounds in the extract of polyherbal preparation. A total of 20 compounds were identified, among which 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienaland 2-pentene-2-methyl were the major compounds. Regarding 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienal, the covered area and height were 40.15% and 46.17%, respectively. These values were 31.90% and 23.33% for 2- pentene-2-methyl, respectively. These two major compounds had an excellent binding affinity and obeyed the rules for the drug likeness and lead likeness.
    Conclusion
    As the findings indicated, the two major ingredients present in soleshine showed a good antifungal activity as they inhibited the enzymes responsible for the survival of fungal organism; furthermore, they were appropriate for the lead molecules. Keywords: Anti-fungal activity, Chitinase, Dermatophytes, Fungalysin, Lumazine synthase, Molecular docking, Soleshine, 1,3-β-Glucan synthase
    Keywords: Anti-fungal activity, Chitinase, Dermatophytes, Fungalysin, Lumazine synthase, Molecular docking, Soleshine, 1, 3-?-Glucan synthase
  • Hamid Badali, Sassan Rezaie, Jacques F. Meis, Setareh Agha Kuchak Afshari, Mona Modiri, Ferry Hagen, Maryam Moazeni, Rasoul Mohammadi, Sadegh Khodavaisy * Pages 15-20
    Background and
    Purpose
    Candida parapsilosis is a predominant species found in nosocomial infection, particularly in hospitalized patients. The molecular epidemiology of the clinical strains of this species has not been well studied. The present study was performed with the aim of investigating the microsatellite genotyping of Candida parapsilosis among the Iranian clinical isolates.
    Materials And Methods
    This study was conducted on 81 independent clinical C. parapsilosis isolates that were genotyped by using a panel of six microsatellite markers.
    Results
    The short tandem repeat (STR) typing of clinical C. parapsilosis isolates demonstrated 68 separate genotypes, among which 57 genotypes were observed once and the remaining 11 cases were identified for multiple times. The Simpson’s diversity index for the panel of combined six markers yielded a diversity index of 0.9951. The heterogeneity was observed among the Iranian and the Netherlands clinical C. parapsilosis isolates.
    Conclusion
    As the findings indicated, the clinical C. parapsilosis isolates from Iran showed a high genetic diversity. It can be concluded that molecular epidemiology could be useful for screening during outbreak investigation where C. parapsilosis is involved.
    Keywords: Candida parapsilosis, Genotyping, Iran, Microsatellite
  • Majid Alizadeh, Anna Kolecka, Teun Boekhout, Hossein Zarrinfar, Mohammad Ali Ghanbari Nahzag, Parisa Badiee, Ali Rezaei-Matehkolaei, Abdolmajid Fata, Somayeh Dolatabadi, Mohammad Javad Najafzadeh * Pages 21-25
    Background and PurposeVulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common problem in women. The purpose of this study was to identify of Candida species isolated from vulvovaginitis woman suffering vulvovaginitis refered to Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, by use of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.
    Materials and MethodsThe 65 clinical samples isolated from Vulvovaginitis women were collected in Ghaem Hospital. All specimens were identified using phenotypic techniques such as microscopy and culture on Sabouraud dextrose agar and corn meal agar medium,Then, All isolates were detected and were processed for MALDI TOF MS identification.
    Results Of the 65 isolates analyzed, 61 (93.8%) were recognised by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and for four isolates (6.1%) only not relabile identifications were achieved. In this study, the most frequently isolated species were Candida albicans (58.5%), followed by Candida tropicalis (16.9%), Candida glabrata (7.7%), Candida parapsilosis (7.7%) and Candida guillermondii (3.1%).
    Conclusionpresented results demonstrate that the MALDI TOF mass spectrometry is a fast and reliable technique, and has the potential to replace conventional phenotypic identification of Candida species and other yeast strains routinely isolated in clinical microbiology laboratories.
    Keywords: MALDI-TOF MS, Candidiasis, Vulvovaginitis, identification
  • Mahnaz Fatahinia, Sima Jafarpour, Abdollah Rafiei, Simin Taghipour, Koichi Makimura, Ali Rezaei-Matehkolaei * Pages 26-31
    Background and
    Purpose
    Onychomycosis is fungal infection of the nails with an overall increasing incidence, worldwide. The epidemiological aspects of onychomycosis in Khuzestan, Iran have not been established. This study was aimed to evaluate the clinical and mycological status of fungal nail infection in Khuzestan Province, Iran.
    Material and
    Methods
    The study population included 433 patients (143 males vs. 290 females). Nail samples were undergone to primary direct microscopy and culture. The isolated yeasts and dermatophytes were then subjected to additional molecular identification by r-DNA ITS-RFLP. Identification of some non-dermatophytes molds (NDMs) and unknown yeasts were accomplished by ITS and beta tubulin sequencing.
    Results
    Onychomycosis was confirmed in 154 patients (35.6%; 58 males vs. 96 females) whose age ranged from 2-85 years with highest prevalence in the age group of 41-50 years old. Infection was more occurred due to yeasts (59.7%) with Candida albicans as the most frequent (29.35%) species, followed by C. parapsilosis (13.8%) and C. tropicalis (4.5%). Dermatophytes were isolated in 38.35% of the cases; the most commonly isolates were found to be Trichophyton interdigitale (21.1%), Epidermophyton floccosum (10.5%), T. rubrum (5.25%) and Microsporum canis (1.5%). NDMs were isolated only in 4.5% with Aspergillus spp., as the commonest agents. Dermatophytes and NDMs more frequently seen in toenails whereas, yeasts mostly infected fingernails and fingernail onychomycosis has remarkably more occurred in females than males (P
    Conclusion
    The study highlighted that the agents of infection in the population with onychomycosis from Khuzestan have shifted from dermatophytes to the yeasts.
    Keywords: Onychomycosis, Khuzestan, Yeast, Deramatophyte, NDM
  • Ali Poostforoushfard, Ahmad Reza Pishgar, Enayat Berizi, Hasti Nouraei, Zahra Sobhani, Rohallah Mirzaie, Kamiar Zomorodian * Pages 32-35
    Background and
    Purpose
    Patulin is one of the important mycotoxins, produced by a wide range of molds, including Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Bysochlamys. Patulin is mainly found in the rotten parts of fruits and vegetables, such as apples, pears, peach, apricots, and grapes. Currently, the Codex Alimentarius and Food and Drug Administration have recommended a maximum level of 50 μg/L patulin for apple products. The purpose of this study was to investigate patulin contamination of apple juice and cans in 75 samples collected from 15 manufacturers in Shiraz, southern Iran.
    Materials And Methods
    The detection of patulin was accomplished using a high-performance liquid chromatography with an ultraviolet detector.
    Results
    A total of 38 apple juice samples (53%) and 17 apple cans (45%) were contaminated with patulin. Overall 50% and 3% of the apple juice and apple cans samples had a patulin level of > 3 μg/L.
    Conclusion
    Although the maximum level of patulin in our samples was considerably lower than the permitted level established by the European ::::union:::: (i.e., 50 μg/L), the high incidence of this mycotoxin in our samples should be lessen by improving their good manufacturing practice.
    Keywords: Apple juice, Mycotoxin, Patulin