Opportunistic Fungal Infections (Medical Mycology) Flashcards
What are edible mushrooms?
They are fungi
What are fungi?
Fungi are eukaryotes that exist that exist as unicellular or multicellular
What is the cellular organization of fungi?
They have complex cellular organization but lack chlorophyll thus, they differ from plant cells
What are the organelles of the fungi?
Nucleus where DNA is wrapped around histones
Mitochondria
Ribosomes
Cell wall
Plasma Membrane
What does the cell wal of the fungi contain?
Chitin,
Glucans
Mannans
Polysaccharides
What does the fungal cell membrane contain?
Ergosterol
(Mammalian cells contain cholesterol)
How many fungi species have been identified?
More than 200 000 fungal species have been identified, however, less than 300 can cause disease in human
What are the different fungal morphologies?
- Yeast
- Yeast-like fungi
- Filamentous fungi
- Dimorphic fungi
What are the differences between bacteria and fungi?
Bacteria: prokaryotes, smaller, cell wall peptidoglycan, growth pH 6.5to 7, cell cycle 20 minutes, motile with flagella, 70S ribosomes, pili, no cytoskeleton
Fungi: eukaryotes, bigger, chitin cell wall, pH value 4 to 6, cell cycle 12 to 24 hours, immobile, 80S ribosomes, no pills, microtubules
What are the different types of medically important fungi?
Dimorphic
Opportunistic
What are the two kinds of dimorphic fungi?
Mold form at 25°C (environmental temperature)
Yeast form at 37°C (body temperature)
What are he examples of dimorphic fungi?
Bastomyces Dermatitis
Coccidiiodes Immitis
Histoplasma capsulatum
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis
What are examples of opportunistic fungi?
Candida albicans
Cryptococcus neoformans
Aspergillus fumigatus
What are the virulence factors of fungal pathogens (surface components)? (3)
- Cell wall glycoproteins: facilitate adherence.
- Capsule: prevent phagocytosis by immune cells
- Melanin pigment: antioxidant, detoxify, reactive oxygen radicals released by immune cells
What are the virulence factors of fungal pathogens (immune evasion)? (3)
- Thermo-tolerance: grow in different shapes at 37
- Resist killing by phagocytosis
- Cytocidal activity against epithelial and monocytic cells
What are the virulence factors of fungal pathogens (exoenzymes)?
- Elastase: degrades elastin and enhances invasion of lung, skin, and blood vessels
- Alkaline protease: degrades collagen and elastin, enhances invasion of lung tissues
- Acid proteases: cleaves IgA2 immunoglobulin
- Keratinase: degrades scleroprotein in the skin
What are the virulence factors of fungal pathogens (toxins and toxic metabolites)?
- Aflatoxin: causes liver toxcity and carcinogenic
What is candidiasis?
Caused by yeast candida
Candidiasis can occur in the mouth and throat, vagina, or the bloodstream (esophageal candidiasis, nail infection, thrush)
What is the C. neoformans infection?
Caused by cryptococcus neoformans, which can infect the brain (meningitis) in people with HIV/AIDS (cryptococcus meningitis and skin infections)
What is aspergillosis?
Caused by the fungus Aspergillus and usually occurs in people with lung diseases or weak immune systems (nail infections, lung infection and burn infection)
What is mucormycosis?
A rare infection that m(rhinocerebral mucormycosis and skin infections)
What is pneumocystis pneumonia? (PCP)
Caused by the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii and mainly affects people with weakened immune systems (lung infections)
What is Blastomycosis?
Caused by the fungus Blastomyces, which lives in moist soil in parts of the US and Canada (skin infections)
What is Sprotrichosis?
Caused by the fungus Sporothrix, which lives throughout the world in soil and on plants (skin and subcutaneous infections)
What is histoplasmosis?
Caused by the fungus Histoplasma, which lives in the environment, often in association with large amounts of bird or bat droppings (skin and lung infections)