Antifungal activity of propolis against Fonsecaea pedrosoi, a chromoblastomycosis agent

Chromoblastomycosis is a subcutaneous mycosis caused by dematiaceous fungi, being Fonsecaea pedrosoi the main etiologic agent in Brazil. Propolis is a resinous material collected by honeybees, with variable composition and pharmacological properties, including antifungal activity. The antifungal activity of ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP) obtained from different municipalities of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, against F. pedrosoi strains was assessed. The EEP showed MIC values between 625 and 2500 µg/mL and the best antifungal activity were obtained with the propolis collected in Santo Antônio da Patrulha and Candelária. All extracts showed the presence terpenoids with similar chromatographic behavior while flavonoids were abundant in the most active samples. The quantification of phenolic compounds demonstrated that there is no correlation between their concentration and antifungal activity. Thus, it can be concluded that the activity is linked to a qualitative chemical composition and not to the general amount of phenolic compoundsColegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Frequency of onychomycoses in chronic renal failure patients undergoing hemodialysis at a referral hospital in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Onychomycosis is one of the most frequent infections affectingthe fingernails or the toenails and it is caused mainly by dermatophytes. Theaim of the study was to assess the frequency of onychomycoses in hemodialysispatients and to relate sex, age, duration of hemodialysis and causesof renal failure to the development of nail disorders. The study included 100patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis. The patientsunderwent detailed clinical examination of the toenails and those with anykind of clinical finding had nail scraping for mycological testing. In the studypopulation, the frequency of onychomycosis was 39%. The most commonlyisolated fungi were dermatophytes (69.23%), Candida spp. (15.38%) andnondermatophyte molds (15.38%). T. interdigitale was the most prevalentfungus followed by Candida ssp. and T. rubrum. The risk of onychomycosisincreases by 1.9% for each additional year in age and diabetic patientsare 88% more likely to develop onychomycosis than nondiabetic ones. Theduration of hemodialysis treatment and sex were not associated with thedevelopment of onychomycosis. In conclusion, in hemodialysis patients,the frequency of onychomycosis was higher in those at advanced age andwith diabetes

Molecular Epidemiology of Agents of Human Chromoblastomycosis in Brazil with the Description of Two Novel Species

The human mutilating disease chromoblastomycosis is caused by melanized members of the order Chaetothyriales. To assess population diversity among 123 clinical strains of agents of the disease in Brazil we applied sequencing of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region, and partial cell division cycle and β-tubulin genes. Strains studied were limited to three clusters divided over the single family Herpotrichiellaceae known to comprise agents of the disease. A Fonsecaea cluster contained the most important agents, among which F. pedrosoi was prevalent with 80% of the total set of strains, followed by 13% for F. monophora, 3% for F. nubica, and a single isolate of F. pugnacius. Additional agents, among which two novel species, were located among members of the genus Rhinocladiella and Cyphellophora, with frequencies of 3% and 1%, respectively

<i>Cyphellophora ludoviensis</i> microscopic morphology.

<p>(A) colonies on SGA; (B-E) hyphae with chlamydospores and lateral extensions; (F) anastomosis; (G-H) spirally twisted hyphae; (I) poorly differentiated phialide producing conidia; (J-P) chlamydospores and conidia. Scale bars 10 μm.</p

<i>Rhinocladiella tropicalis</i>, microscopic morphology.

<p>(A) Colonies on SGA; (B, C) twisted hyphae and conidia; (D-G) conidiophores with conidia produced in sympodial order; (H-O) conidial apparatus with conidia. Scale bars 10 μm.</p

Multilocus tree of <i>Rhinocladiella</i> based on ITS and partial <i>BT2</i> sequences.

<p>Constructed with maximum likelihood implemented in MEGA 7. Bootstrap values of >80% from 100 resampled data sets are shown with branches. <i>Cladophialophora yegresii</i> and <i>C</i>. <i>carrionii</i> comprised the outgroup. Novel species causing chromoblastomycosis are indicated with red branches. Type strain in bold.</p

Phylogeny of a representative selection of species in Chaetothyriales, based on confidently aligned LSU sequences.

<p>Constructed with Maximum likelihood implemented in MEGA 7. Bootstrap values > 80% from 100 resampled datasets are shown with branches. Coloured boxes represent species complexes taken from de Hoog et al. [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005102#pntd.0005102.ref021" target="_blank">21</a>], Feng et al. [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005102#pntd.0005102.ref022" target="_blank">22</a>], and Vicente et al. [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005102#pntd.0005102.ref023" target="_blank">23</a>]. Clades with species causing chromoblastomycosis analysed in this study are indicated with arrows. Type strain in bold.</p