Isolated iliac cryptococcosis in an immunocompetent patient

<p>Isolated iliac cryptococcosis in an immunocompetent patient</p

¹⁸FDG-PET/CT scan and histological examination.

<p><b>(A)</b>¹⁸FDG-PET/CT indicated hypermetabolic lesions in the bilateral iliac crest, especially in the left iliac crest. <b>(B)</b> Histological examinations (HE stain, left panel; PAS stain, right panel) after left iliac biopsy revealed round yeast cells. HE, hematoxylin and eosin; PAS, periodic acid–Schiff; ¹⁸FDG-PET/CT, ¹⁸fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and computed tomography.</p

In vitro assay of virulence factors.

<p>Different media (DMEM liquid, L-DOPA, and Christiansen’s urea agars) were utilized to test the production of major virulence factors (such as capsule, melanin, and urease) in <i>C</i>. <i>neoformans</i>. Compared with the hypervirulent strain (H99) or environmental isolate (El1), the clinical isolate (Pt) displayed a significant defect in melanization at host temperature but not in capsule or urease production.</p

Image_1_Low-Cost Tetraplex PCR for the Global Spreading Multi-Drug Resistant Fungus, Candida auris and Its Phylogenetic Relatives.JPEG

<p>Candida auris, C. haemulonii, C. duobushaemulonii, and C. pseudohaemulonii are closely related and highly multidrug resistant yeast pathogens. The high cost and low accuracy of current diagnostics may underestimate their prevalence, especially in medical resource-limited regions. In this study, we used 172 C. auris stains and its relatives and 192 other fungal strains to establish and validate a novel multiplex end-point PCR. A prospective and a retrospective clinical screenings using this assay were further performed in China and Iran respectively. We identified the first isolate of C. pseudohaemulonii in China and the first isolate of C. haemulonii in Iran from 821 clinical isolates in total, without any false positive. Animal models of C. auris and C. haemulonii were established for validation. The overall positive rates of the assay for mice blood and tissue were 28.6 and 92.9%, respectively. Compared with previously developed assays, our assay is more available and affordable to the developing countries, and may contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology of C. auris and its relatives in these regions.</p

Macrophage killing assay and murine inhalation model.

<p>Both macrophage <b>(A)</b> (<i>P</i> < 0.01) and animal <b>(B)</b> (<i>P</i> < 0.001) infection experiments displayed attenuated virulence of the clinical isolate compared with the hypervirulent strain H99.</p

Association analysis of filaggrin mutations with atopic dermatitis in both family and case-control studies.

<p>P value represented as ratio of transmitted:untransmitted (T:U) filaggrin gene minor alleles;</p><p>CI : confidence interval.</p

Phenotype characteristics of 100 trios included in the analyses.

*<p>Number affected/total number with data available.</p><p>SCORAD, SCORing atopic dermatitis.</p><p>ND, not done.</p

Prevalance and comparison of compound genotype for common <i>FLG</i> mutations in various groups.

<p><i>FLG</i>, filaggrin gene; AD, atopic dermatitis; IV, ichthyosis vulgaris.</p><p>OR: odds ratio; CI : confidence interval;</p

Primer sequences for filaggrin and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

<p><i>FLG</i>, filaggrin gene;</p><p><i>GAPDH</i>, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene.</p

Analysis of associations between combined common filaggrin gene mutations and atopic dermatitis associated phenotype.

<p><i>FLG</i>, filaggrin gene; AD, atopic dermatitis; IV, ichthyosis vulgaris.</p