Incidence and prevalence of dermatophytosis in and around Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

Background: Dermatophytes are group of fungi that infect keratinized tissues of human and animals. The group consist of three different genera namely, Trichophyton, Microsporum, Epidermophyton and several species within each genera. Among Trichophyton, Trichophyton rubrum is predominant, followed by various strains of Trichophyton mentagrophytes, which include both anthropophiles and zoophiles. Prevalence of dermatophytes varies with location and environmental condition. The infection is common worldwide with higher prevalence in tropical countries like India. Molecular diagnosis renders accurate identification of clinical dermatophyte isolates to species level. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of dermatophytoses, isolate and identify the dermatophyte from samples of clinically suspected cases attending tertiary care centre using conventional and molecular methods.Methods: A total of 210 patients showing lesions typical of dermatophytes infection from outpatient Department of dermatology were sent to mycology unit, Department of Microbiology for the period of April 2011-March 2014 were studied. Diagnosis was confirmed by conventional and polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique.Results: Out of 210 samples received, tinea corporis was the predominant clinical site which was followed by tinea cruris. A total of 143 dermatophytes were isolated from the clinical samples. T. rubrum was the predominant etiological agent with 70/143 isolates and T. mentagrophytes was the second most common with 64/143 isolates. Amplification of internal transcribed spacers (ITS) was successful in all the clinical isolates by PCR and produced species specific banding pattern in RFLP using restriction enzyme Mva I.Conclusions: Among dermatophytoses, T. rubrum was the predominant etiological agent present in the whole of Chennai District and T. mentagrophytes takes the second place

Incidence and prevalence of dermatophytosis in and around Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

Background: Dermatophytes are group of fungi that infect keratinized tissues of human and animals. The group consist of three different genera namely, Trichophyton, Microsporum, Epidermophyton and several species within each genera. Among Trichophyton, Trichophyton rubrum is predominant, followed by various strains of Trichophyton mentagrophytes, which include both anthropophiles and zoophiles. Prevalence of dermatophytes varies with location and environmental condition. The infection is common worldwide with higher prevalence in tropical countries like India. Molecular diagnosis renders accurate identification of clinical dermatophyte isolates to species level. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of dermatophytoses, isolate and identify the dermatophyte from samples of clinically suspected cases attending tertiary care centre using conventional and molecular methods.Methods: A total of 210 patients showing lesions typical of dermatophytes infection from outpatient Department of dermatology were sent to mycology unit, Department of Microbiology for the period of April 2011-March 2014 were studied. Diagnosis was confirmed by conventional and polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique.Results: Out of 210 samples received, tinea corporis was the predominant clinical site which was followed by tinea cruris. A total of 143 dermatophytes were isolated from the clinical samples. T. rubrum was the predominant etiological agent with 70/143 isolates and T. mentagrophytes was the second most common with 64/143 isolates. Amplification of internal transcribed spacers (ITS) was successful in all the clinical isolates by PCR and produced species specific banding pattern in RFLP using restriction enzyme Mva I.Conclusions: Among dermatophytoses, T. rubrum was the predominant etiological agent present in the whole of Chennai District and T. mentagrophytes takes the second place

Molecular strain typing of Trichophyton mentagrophytes (T. mentagrophytes var. interdigitale) using non-transcribed spacer region as a molecular marker

Background & objectives: Dermatophytes are keratinophilic fungi that infect keratinized tissues of human and animal origin. Trichophyton mentagrophytes is considered to be a species complex composed of several strains, which include both anthropophiles and zoophiles. Accurate discrimination is critical for comprehensive understanding of the clinical and epidemiological implications of the genetic heterogeneity of this complex. Molecular strain typing renders an effective way to discriminate each strain. The objective of the study was to characterize T. mentagrophytes clinical isolates to sub-species level using molecular techniques and non-transcribed spacer (NTS) region as marker. Methods: Sixty four T. mentagrophytes clinical isolates were identified by phenotypic methods. These were subjected to polymerase chain reaction targeting three sub-repeat elements (SREs), TmiS0, TmiS1 and TmiS2 of the NTS region. Sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of different types was also done. Results: Strain-specific polymorphism was observed in all three loci. Totally, 13 different PCR types were obtained on combining all the three SREs loci. No variation was observed in the ITS region. Interpretation & conclusions: The study described the usefulness of molecular strain typing technique for the discrimination of the T. mentagrophytes isolates. This will help for the future explorations into the epidemiology of T. mentagrophytes and its complex

Broad spectrum antimicrobial compounds from the bacterium Exiguobacterium mexicanum MSSRFS9.

Clinical bacterial pathogens front a major challenge for the clinical researchers and physicians. In particular microbial pathogens like Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Klebsiella pneumonia and Salmonella enterica are apparelled with systemic machineries to bring down the human immune system as well as proliferate dramatically in a short period which in turn cause a pronounced ailment to the human health. In vitro evaluation of four purified compounds isolated from rhizosphere bacterium Exiguobacterium mexicanum tested against clinical pathogens mentioned above by disc diffusion method showed the two compounds viz., 3,6,18-trione, 9,10-dihydro-12'-hydroxyl-2methyl-5-(phenyl methyl) (5'-alpha, 10-alpha)-dihydroergotamine (C3) and dipropyl - S-propyl ester (C4) exhibit antibacterial property against all the tested pathogens. Among the four clinical pathogens tested, compound C3 has shown higher zone of inhibition against S. enterica with 17±0mm, followed by S. flexneri with 16.5±0.7mm, E. coli with 15±0mm and K. pneumoniae with 14±0mm, respectively. The compound C4 has shown higher antimicrobial activity against S. enterica with 21.5±0.7mm zone of inhibition, followed by S. flexneri with 19.5±0.7mm, E. coli with 17±0mm and K. pneumoniae with 16±0mm, these two compounds were found to be safer when subjected to rat haematological and enzymatic analysis

Isolation and Characterization of “Terrein” an Antimicrobial and Antitumor Compound from Endophytic Fungus Aspergillus terreus (JAS-2) Associated from Achyranthus aspera Varanasi, India

The present study aimed at characterizing biological potentials of endophyte Aspergillus terreus JAS-2 isolated from Achyranthus aspera. Crude extracted from endophytic fungus JAS-2 was purified and chemically characterized by chromatographic and spectroscopic studies respectively. Spectral assignment of NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) data, 1H proton and 13C carbon analysis along with FTIR data elucidated the structure of compound as 4,5-Dihydroxy-3-(1-propenyl)-2-cyclopenten-1-one. After purification and identification a set of experiment was conducted to explore efficacy of compound. Results revealed that on accessing the antifungal activity of compound, growth diameter of tested phytopathogenic fungi was reduced to 50% at higher concentration taken (10 μgμl−1). Compound exhibited in-vitro bacterial cell inhibition at 20 μgml−1 concentration along with moderate antioxidant behavior. Evaluation of anticancer activity against human lung cancer cell line (A-549) exhibited its IC50 value to be 121.9 ± 4.821 μgml−1. Further cell cycle phase distribution were analyzed on the basis of DNA content and evaluated by FACS (Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting) and it was revealed that at 150 μgml−1 of compound maximum cells were found in sub G1 phase which represents apoptotic dead cells. Terrein (4, 5-Dihydroxy-3-(1-propenyl)-2-cyclopenten-1-one) a multi-potential was isolated from endophytic fungus JAS-2, from well recognized medicinal herb A. aspera. To best of our knowledge, this is the first report of “Terrein” from endophytic derived fungus. This compound had also exhibited anticancer and antifungal activity against human lung cancer cell line A-549 and Bipolaris sorokiniana respectively which is causal organism of many plants disease. Hence endophytes are serving as alternative sources of drug molecules