Abstract
Cryptococcosis is a systemic fungal disease acquired from contaminated environments with propagules of the basidiomycetous yeasts of the Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii species complexes. The C. neoformans species complex classically comprises four major molecular types (VNI, VNII, VNIII, and VNIV), and the C. gattii species complex comprises another four (VGI, VGII, VGIII, and VGIV) and the newly identified molecular type VGV. These major molecular types differ in their epidemiological and ecological features, clinical presentations, and therapeutic outcomes. Generally, the most common isolated types are VNI, VGI, and VGII. The epidemiological profile of cryptococcosis in domestic cats is poorly studied and cats can be the sentinels for human infections. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the molecular characterization of Cryptococcus spp. isolated from domestic cats and their dwellings in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A total of 36 Cryptococcus spp. strains, both clinical and environmental, from 19 cats were subtyped using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The ploidy was identified using flow cytometry and the mating type was determined through amplification with specific pheromone primers. All strains were mating type alpha and 6/36 were diploid (all VNII). Most isolates (63.88%) were identified as VNII, a rare molecular type, leading to the consideration that this genotype is more likely related to skin lesions, since there was a high percentage (68.75%) of cats with skin lesions, which is also considered rare. Further studies regarding the molecular epidemiology of cryptococcosis in felines are still needed to clarify the reason for the large proportion of the rare molecular type VNII causing infections in cats.
Highlights
Cryptococcosis is a systemic mycosis that affects a wide variety of mammalian hosts [1]
All 19 studied cases were from the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and most of the cats were mixed breeds (n = 17)
Species of the genus Cryptococcus have already been isolated from the oropharynx of some birds or the oral cavity of dogs [27,28]
Summary
Cryptococcosis is a systemic mycosis that affects a wide variety of mammalian hosts [1]. Most human cases are opportunistic, with risk factors including infection by the acquired immunodeficiency virus (HIV), organ transplantation, lupus, cancer, diabetes, and alcoholism [2,3,4] These cases are usually caused by members of the Cryptococcus neoformans species complex, which is a cosmopolitan agent. A recent proposal named seven species of the cryptococcosis agents, excluding diploid/aneuploid hybrids [8,9] Such monophyletic clades (molecular types) are potentially different species, the proposed nomenclature is still premature, since, as further epidemiological studies have been carried out, new molecular types have been identified, such as VNB [10] of C. neoformans and VGV of C. gattii [11]. The cryptococcosis agents were treated as molecular types in the present study
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