Histoplasma capsulatum
            : Occurrence in Soil from the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy

: By being the first point of contact of the fungus with the host, the cell wall plays an important role in the pathogenesis, having many molecules that participate as antigens that are recognized by immune cells, and also that help the fungus to establish infection. The main molecules reported to trigger an immune response are chitin, glucans, oligosaccharides, proteins, melanin, phospholipids, and others, being present in the principal pathogenic fungi with clinical importance worldwide, such as Histoplasma capsulatum, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Blastomyces dermatitidis, and Sporothrix schenckii. Knowledge and understanding of how the immune system recognizes and responds to fungal antigens are relevant for the future research and development of new diagnostic tools and treatments for the control of mycosis caused by these fungi.

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Germination of the Macroconidium of Histoplasma Capsulatum

Mycologia ◽

10.1080/00275514.1964.12018153 ◽

1964 ◽

Vol 56 (5) ◽

pp. 662-671 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Roger D. Goos

Keyword(s):

Histoplasma Capsulatum

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Isolation and Molecular Typing of Leishmania infantum from Phlebotomus perfiliewi in a Re-Emerging Focus of Leishmaniasis, Northeastern Italy

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms7120644 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (12) ◽

pp. 644

Author(s):

Mattia Calzolari ◽

Elena Carra ◽

Gianluca Rugna ◽

Paolo Bonilauri ◽

Federica Bergamini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leishmania Infection ◽

Sand Flies ◽

Repetitive Region ◽

Microsatellite Typing ◽

Increasing Trend ◽

Northeastern Italy ◽

Emilia Romagna Region ◽

Phlebotomus Perfiliewi ◽

Leishmania Parasites

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania (L.) infantum is a public health threat in the Emilia-Romagna region, northeastern Italy, but its epidemiology has not been fully elucidated in this area. The objective of this study was to characterize Leishmania infection in sand flies collected in a re-emerging focus of VL in the Bologna province. During the summer of 2016, 6114 sand flies were collected, identified, and tested for Leishmania detection. Of the identified sand flies, 96.5% were Phlebotomus (P.) perfiliewi and 3.5% were P. perniciosus. Detected parasites were characterized by biomolecular methods (multilocus microsatellite typing and characterization of repetitive region on chromosome 31), and quantified by real-time PCR. The prevalence of Leishmania infection in individually-tested P. perfiliewi sand flies varied from 6% to 10% with an increasing trend during the season. Promastigotes of L. infantum were isolated by dissection in one P. perfiliewi female; the isolated strain (Lein-pw) were closely related to Leishmania parasites from VL cases in northeastern Italy, but differed from strains isolated in dogs from the same area. Our findings strongly support the vector status of P. perfiliewi for human VL in the study area.

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