Mycology Flashcards
Basic characteristics of fungi
- Eukaryotic/Prokaryotic?
- Energy and nutrition?
- Reproduce?
- Cell walls made of?
- Principal cell wall sterol?
- How do they grow?
Basic characteristics of fungi
- Eukaryotic (membrane-bound nucleus, complex organelles)
- Energy and nutrition - parasitic or saprophytic.
- Reproduce by budding, fission or spore formation
- Cell walls (polysaccharide and glycoproteins).
- Principal cell wall sterol is ergosterol
- Can grow as yeast-like cells or as molds
Traditional Classification (4)
Traditional Classification
- Mucormycetes ( Rhizopus , Mucor , Absidia , Basidiobolus )
- Ascomycetes ( Histoplasma , Blastomyces , some Candida )
- Basidiomycetes ( Cryptococcus )
- Deuteromycetes (most pathogenic Candida species, pathogenic Aspergillus species, Coccidioides )
Morphologic Classification (3)
Morphologic Classification
- Yeast
- grows as single cells
- Candida , Cryptococcus
- Molds
- Multicellular filaments (hyphae), multiple genetically identicle nuclei, colony
- Aspergillus, Mucormycetes, many others
- Dimorphic fungi
- yeasts/spherules at 37°C, molds at 25°C
- Histoplasma, Blastomyces, Coccidioides, Paracoccidioides, Sporothrix
Diagnosis of Fungal Diseases
Diagnosis of Fungal Diseases
- Culture causative fungus.
- Microscopic morphology
- Demonstrate specific host immune response
- Demonstrate fungal antigen(s)
- Demonstrate fungal nucleic acid sequence(s)
- Demonstrate distinctive fungal metabolite(s)
How do you culture fungi?
Culture
- Yeast-like fungi ( Candida spp. and related)
- grow on routine bacterial media
- Filamentous fungi (molds)
- may grow on routine media
- should be cultured on mycologic media for optimum recovery
- special requirements ( M. furfur )
Mycologic Media (6)
Mycologic Media
- Culture media for primary isolation): selective & non-selective agars, that can include:
- Sabouraud’s glucose agar (SAB), non-selective
- Selective SAB, with chloramphenicol
- Selective SAB, with chloramphenicol plus cycloheximide (Actidione)
- Blood Brain Heart Infusion (BBHI), non-selective
- BBHI with gentamicin (G) & chloramphenicol (C)
- Selective BBHI with G, C & Actidione
- Usually incubated at 30oC
- For possible dimorphs sub at 37 to convert to yeast
Fungal Identification
Fungal Identification
- Yeasts: biochemical, supplemented by morphology
- Molds and dimorphs: morphology, supplemented by biochemical and sequencing
- MALDI-TOF is becoming widely used for yeasts; very promising for the rest.
Can We Do Fungal Blood Cultures?
Can We Do Fungal Blood Cultures?
- Yes!
- 90% of the time looking for yeast fungemia; usually from a urinary source
- Conventional blood culture is perfectly adequate
- Some conventional systems are insensitive for Cryptococcus
- Occasionally looking for fungemia with a mold or dimorph; Aspergillus, Fusarium, Histoplasma
- Special culture procedures
- Biphasic bottle
- Lysis-centrifugation (Isolator) system
Can you see fungi on Gram stains?
Microscopy
- Budding yeast or mycelia are often evident on Gram stains
Diagnostically-useful fungal antigens
Diagnostically-useful fungal antigens
- Commonly Used
- Cryptococcus neoformans galactoxylomannan
- Histoplasma capsulatum surface antigens
- Used in specific/complex situations
- Candida albicans enolase
- Aspergillus fumigatus galactomannan
5 Types of Antifungal Drugs?
Antifungal Drugs
- The azoles
- The echinocandins
- Amphotericin and derivatives
- Flucytosine
- Griseofulvin & Terbinafine
Antifungal Drugs
- The azoles
Antifungal Drugs
- The azoles
- Ketoconazole: rarely used
- Fluconazole: low toxicity, active against Cryptococcus , C. albicans , selected other Candida
- Itraconazole: unreliable absorption, broad spectrum, esp vs dermatophytes
- Posaconazole: oral only, broad spectrum; some anti-Zygomycete activity
- Voriconazole: oral or IV, broad specturm, highly effective vs Aspergillus .
Antifungal Drugs
- The echinocandins
Antifungal Drugs
- The echinocandins
- Expensive
- very complete Candida coverage
- good vs Aspergillus
- limited coverage vs other fungi
- Often used as second-line / salvage therapy.
- Caspofungin, anidulafungin, micafungin, all IV only.
- NO activity vs Cryptococcus.
Antifungal Drugs
- Amphotericin and derivatives
Antifungal Drugs
- Amphotericin and derivatives
- Covers most Candida , Aspergillus , dimorphics with some specific exceptions.
- IV only.
- Nephrotoxic and infusion-related toxicities
- liposomal and similar derivatives better tolerated.
Antifungal Drugs
- Flucytosine
- Griseofulvin & Terbinafine
Antifungal Drugs
- Flucytosine: effective adjunctive agent vs Cryptococcus .
- Griseofulvin & Terbinafine: good activity vs. dermatophytes.
Mold anatomy
Aspergillus
Aspergillosis
- Yeast/Mold/Dimorph?
- 3 Pathogenic species?
- Common features?
Aspergillosis
- Mold
- Pathogenic species
- A. fumigatus
- A. flavus
- A. niger
- Common features
- narrow septate hyphae that branch at 30-45o in tissue (acute-angle branching)
- produce asexual spores in environment and in cultures, but not in mammalian tissues
What is it?
Aspergillus fumigatus
- The most common pathogen
- A. fumigatus has a dark-green colony
- Flask-shaped vesicle with conidia swept away from stalk
- Single row of phialides (uniseriate)
What is it?
Aspergillus flavus
- Biseriate (2 rows of phialides)
- Yellow colony
- Phialides surround vesicle
What is it?
Aspergillus niger
- White base with densely black conidia
- Dark, rough conidia
Risks for Aspergillosis?
Aspergillosis: Epidemiology/ecology
- Ubiquitous environmental saprophytes (dust, soil, on plants, etc).
- Everyone is exposed to spores every day.
- Neutropenia or phagocyte dysfunction (eg, CGD) is the key risk factor for invasive aspergillosis.
- T-cell immunity is less important.
- Environment influences incidence
- decreases with filtered air
- increased with construction/demolition
Aspergillosis Allergic Bronchopulmonary Disease
3 types?
Aspergillosis Allergic Bronchopulmonary Disease
- hypersensitivity –> allergic pneumonitis or allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA)
- allergic aspergillosis
- bronchospasm
- fleeting pulmonary infiltrates
- tends to be chronic or recurrent
- refractory asthma