Fungi I Flashcards
Their biochemistry and molecular biology are resemble those of mammalian cells
Fungi
Molecular genetic analysis has shown that many components of the cellular machinery required for protein synthesis and secretion, transcription, DNA replication, and control of cell division are functionally interchangeable in
Human and Fugnal Cells
Fave thick rigid cell walls that contain long-chain polysaccharides and highly-glycosylated proteins
Fungi
The impermeable cell wall limits access of drugs to the
Cytoplasm
An important wall component
-A polymer of D-mannose, bound to proteins
Mannan
A ‘mannose-binding protein’ in serum, resembles C1q; it binds fungal walls and activates
Complement
Fungi obtain nutrients and energy by breaking down organic matter, meaning they are
Saprophytes
Because of their rigid walls fungi are incapable of
Phagocytosis
Fungi - especially their cell walls - are potent
Immunogens
Growing [= vegetative] fungi divide by
Mitosis
In vegetative growth fungi produce thick-walled
-specialized for dispersal and resistance to unfavorable environments
Asexual spores (conidia)
When conidia encounter favorable nutrition, they germinate and resume growth. The mitotic mode of growth is the
Imperfect State
Many diploid fungi also undergo meiosis. The haploid products of meiosis are not gametes but thick-walled
Sexual Spores
Two haploid cells of different mating type can fuse to produce a diploid cell. The ability to go through meiosis and produce sexual spores is the
Perfect State
Takes place only under strictly-defined conditions, often involving starvation, and seldom takes place in mammalian tissue
Meiosis
So, although sexual structures determine classification of fungi, they are of little use in the
Identification of pathogens
Easily airborne and resistant to heat, cold, and drying.
-They are widespread in the environment
Fungal Spores
Pose a major health problem for severely immunocompromised patients
Fungal Spores
Immune defense against fungi is provided mostly by
Phagocytes
Neutropenic patients (for example, those who receive radiation therapy for cancer) are highly susceptible to
Fungal Infections
A a structural analogue of cytosine
5-fluorocytosine
Fungi convert it to 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate, an analogue of dTMP
5-fluorocytosine
Inhibits synthesis of thymine and blocks fungal DNA synthesis
5-fluorocytosine
Because genetic resistance regularly emerges, 5FC is used in combination with
Amphotericin
Membrane inhibitors exploit one of the few differences between fungal and mammalian cells: Mammalian membranes contain cholesterol, while those of fungi contain the related steroid
Ergosterol
Bind to ergosterol in the membrane, increase membrane permeability and cause loss of small molecules from the cell
Polyenes
What are two polyenes that serve as membrane inhibitors?
Amphotericin and Nystatin
Used for systemic or deepseated infections
Amphotericin
Too toxic for internal use but is used topically for fungal infections
Nystatin
What are the four types of fungal membrane inhibitors?
Polyenes, Azoles, Echinocandins, and Pentamidine
Interfere with the synthesis of ergosterol
-The best antifungals
Azoles
Block synthesis of cell-wall polysaccharides
Echinocandins
Used against Pneumocystis carinii, a common cause of pneumonia in AIDS patients, and recently discovered to be a fungus
Pentamidine
Pneumocystis genes which encode ribosomal RNA contain introns that splice themselves out of rRNA transcripts without participation of the normal cellular splicing apparatus. This self-splicing is inhibited by
Pentamidine
No example of a self-splicing intron is found in mammalian DNA; this accounts for pentamidine’s
Selective toxicity
What are the four major groups of fungi?
Zygomyces, Ascomyces, Basidiomyces, and Deuteromyces
Many sexual spores are produced in a large sack-like zygospore, produced at the position at which two haploid cells have fused
Zygomyces
What are two important pathogenic zygomycetes?
Rhizopus and Mucor
Single cells undergo meiosis and the resulting four haploid spores are contained in a sac [ascus], derived from the wall of the original diploid cell
Ascomyces
What are two important non-pathogenic ascomycetes?
Bread and Brewers yeast