Hair Infection Research Articles

Differences in immune parameters are associated with resistance to Haemonchus contortus in Caribbean hair sheep

Caribbean hair sheep are more resistant to gastrointestinal nematodes than conventional wool breeds, but mechanisms that confer resistance are not fully understood. This study compared immune effector cell populations and antibody concentrations in 12 hair and 12 wool lambs infected with the abomasal parasite Haemonchus contortus and sacrificed at 3 or 27 days post-infection (p.i.) and 14 uninfected animals of each breed. Faecal egg counts were over 2.5-fold higher (P = 0.12) and packed cell volumes approximately 8% lower (P < 0.10) in infected wool lambs. Abomasal lymph nodes were heavier in infected animals (P < 0.05) and infected hair sheep had larger lymph nodes than infected wool sheep (P < 0.05). Tissue eosinophil concentrations were likewise larger (P = 0.07) in hair compared with wool sheep at 3 days p.i. Circulating levels of IgE and IgA in uninfected lambs were higher in hair sheep (P < 0.05) and during infection, hair sheep had higher serum IgA than wool sheep at 3, 5, and 21 days p.i. (P < 0.05). Serum IgE in infected lambs did not differ between breeds, but concentrations of IgE in lymph nodes were higher (P < 0.01) at 27 days p.i. in infected hair sheep.

Scanning electron microscopic examination of hair in tinea capitis caused by Trichophyton tonsurans

Objectives: Ultrastructural examination of hair gives many clues about diagnosis. We aimed to investigate the ultrastructural surface on hair infected by Trichophyton tonsurans var. sulfureum. Methods: The hair shaft specimens were obtained from subjects with tinea capitis. Specimens were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results: In routine SEM procedure, spor-like structures were observed on hair surfaces with cuticular cells peeling off like minor dissolving. Conclusion: The ultrastructural surface alterations on infected hair with endothrix dermatophytes such as Trichophyton tonsurans might be an unexpected finding during SEM examination of hair. These results may help for differential diagnosis.

Complete Transcriptome of the Soybean Root Hair Cell, a Single-Cell Model, and Its Alteration in Response toBradyrhizobium japonicumInfection

Nodulation is the result of a mutualistic interaction between legumes and symbiotic soil bacteria (e.g. soybean [Glycine max] and Bradyrhizobium japonicum) initiated by the infection of plant root hair cells by the symbiont. Fewer than 20 plant genes involved in the nodulation process have been functionally characterized. Considering the complexity of the symbiosis, significantly more genes are likely involved. To identify genes involved in root hair cell infection, we performed a large-scale transcriptome analysis of B. japonicum-inoculated and mock-inoculated soybean root hairs using three different technologies: microarray hybridization, Illumina sequencing, and quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Together, a total of 1,973 soybean genes were differentially expressed with high significance during root hair infection, including orthologs of previously characterized root hair infection-related genes such as NFR5 and NIN. The regulation of 60 genes was confirmed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Our analysis also highlighted changes in the expression pattern of some homeologous and tandemly duplicated soybean genes, supporting their rapid specialization.

Development of transformation system for Trichophyton rubrum by electroporation of germinated conidia

Dermatophytes are the fungi that can cause infections of skin, hair, and nails due to their ability to utilize keratin. The genetic transformation systems of dermatophytes were successfully applied to Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum canis. Here we describe the procedure for genetic transformation of Trichophyton rubrum by electroporation of their germinated conidia. A linearized transformation vector (pCHSH75-Pch/GFP/TtrpC) containing bacterial hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene (hph) and green fluorescent protein gene (egfp) was introduced into the germinated conidia of T. rubrum by electroporation. PCR reaction analysis showed that egfp gene was integrated randomly and Southern blotting analysis demonstrated a single integration of hph gene into the chromosomal DNA of randomly selected transformant. In this work we report the efficient transformation and selection of the stable T. rubrum transformants.

NB-002, a Novel Nanoemulsion with Broad Antifungal Activity against Dermatophytes, Other Filamentous Fungi, and Candida albicans

NB-002 is an oil-in-water emulsion designed for use for the treatment of skin, hair, and nail infections. The activity of NB-002 was compared to the activities of the available antifungal drugs against the major dermatophytes responsible for cutaneous infections, Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Microsporum spp., as well as 12 other genera of filamentous fungi. NB-002 consistently displayed fungicidal activity against all dermatophytes. The comparator compounds were either fungistatic or fungicidal, and for some strain-drug combinations, tolerance was observed. Assessment of the development of spontaneous resistance to NB-002 in different dermatophyte species yielded few stably resistant mutants. For filamentous nondermatophyte fungi, the MIC range varied from 0.06 to 0.5 microg/ml for Alternaria spp. to 2 to 8 microg/ml for Paecilomyes spp. NB-002 had activity against both azole-susceptible and -resistant Candida albicans yeast isolates, with MIC(90)s of 2 microg/ml, respectively, and minimum fungicidal concentrations at which 90% of isolates are inhibited of 4 and 8 microg/ml, respectively. The kinetics of the fungicidal activity of NB-002 against T. rubrum isolates were compared to those of the other antifungal drugs. NB-002 killed both mycelia and microconidia even when the fungal forms were dormant or not actively growing. Electron micrographs of mycelia and spores treated with NB-002 showed the significant disruption of the fungal structure. The in vitro broad coverage of NB-002 against filamentous fungi, dermatophytes, and C. albicans, as well as its rapid fungicidal activity, warrants further investigations to ascertain if NB-002 would be useful for the treatment of cutaneous mycoses.

Life Cycle of Plasmodiophora brassicae

Plasmodiphora brassicae is a soil-borne obligate parasite. The pathogen has three stages in its life cycle: survival in soil, root hair infection, and cortical infection. Resting spores of P. brassicae have a great ability to survive in soil. These resting spores release primary zoospores. When a zoospore reaches the surface of a root hair, it penetrates through the cell wall. This stage is termed the root hair infection stage. Inside root hairs the pathogen forms primary plasmodia. A number of nuclear divisions occur synchronously in the plasmodia, followed by cleavage into zoosporangia. Later, 4–16 secondary zoospores are formed in each zoosporangium and released into the soil. Secondary zoospores penetrate the cortical tissues of the main roots, a process called cortical infection. Inside invaded roots cells, the pathogen develops into secondary plasmodia which are associated with cellular hypertrophy, followed by gall formation in the tissues. The plasmodia finally develop into a new generation of resting spores, followed by their release back into soil as survival structures. In vitro dual cultures of P. brassicae with hairy root culture and suspension cultures have been developed to provide a way to nondestructively observe the growth of this pathogen within host cells. The development of P. brassicae in the hairy roots was similar to that found in intact plants. The observations of the cortical infection stage suggest that swelling of P. brassicae-infected cells and abnormal cell division of P. brassicae-infected and adjacent cells will induce hypertrophy and that movement of plasmodia by cytoplasmic streaming increases the number of P. brassicae-infected cells during cell division.

Trichomycoses

Hair infection by fungal agents, also called trichomycoses, is one of the common concerns in human beings. The common agents causing hair infections are dermatophytes, Malassezia species and those causing piedra. The former two can give rise to considerable discomfort and also cause immune-mediated reactions in the form of kerion and dermatophytids. The etiopathogenesis of trichomycoses, along with its clinical aspects and the management, are briefed here.

The Clinical Study of Combination of Bortezomib and Dexamethasone in Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma

OBJECTIVE: To study retrospectively the response and side effects in two groups of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) receiving bortezomib and dexamethasone regimen (VD) and vincristine combined with pirarubicin and dexamethasone and melphalan regimen (VADM).METHODS: Nineteen patients were enrolled in a group of VD, receiving bortezomib 1.3mg/m2 on days 1,4,8,11 and dexamethasone 20mg on days 1–4 in a 21-day cycle. Blade Standard was used to evaluate the therapeutic effect and NCI-CTC was used to assess the adverse effect. Thirty-one matched patients with newly diagnosed MM who received VADM were used as a historical control group, receiving vincristine 0.4mg/d and pirarubicin 9mg•m−2•d−1 and dexamethasone 20mg/d and melphalan 12mg/d on days 1–4, with 28 days as a cycle.RESULTS: During the median 9 months' follow-up of patients who received VD, there were 73.7% patients(14/19)responding to the treatment, including 9 cases (47.4%) of complete remission or near complete remission. Light-chain type patients who received VD had a higher overall response rate and CR +nCR rate than that of the VADM (P<0.05). The patients receiving VD who had renal inadequacy had an effective rate of 69.6% (5/6), which was similar to that of the others (69.2%, 9/13), and renal function relieve could be shown in the chemotherapy. The main adverse effects were fatigue, diarrhea, peripheral neuropathy, thrombocytopenia, and infection, with incidences of 73.8%, 68.4%, 63.2%, 31.5% and 26.3% respectively. Most of the adverse effects were mild and could be relieved by symptomatic treatments. The most common adverse event in the control group was neutropenia (83.8%), followed by infection(35.5%), vomiting (35.5%) and loss of hair(32.5%).CONCLUSION: Although there was no significant difference of overall response rate between VD and VADM, VD has higher CR +nCR rate compared with VADM. VD can be tolerant in most patients, and is also safe in patients with renal inadequacy.

The RPG gene of Medicago truncatula controls Rhizobium -directed polar growth during infection

Rhizobia can infect roots of host legume plants and induce new organs called nodules, in which they fix atmospheric nitrogen. Infection generally starts with root hair curling, then proceeds inside newly formed, intracellular tubular structures called infection threads. A successful symbiotic interaction relies on infection threads advancing rapidly at their tips by polar growth through successive cell layers of the root toward developing nodule primordia. To identify a plant component that controls this tip growth process, we characterized a symbiotic mutant of Medicago truncatula, called rpg for rhizobium-directed polar growth. In this mutant, nitrogen-fixing nodules were rarely formed due to abnormally thick and slowly progressing infection threads. Root hair curling was also abnormal, indicating that the RPG gene fulfils an essential function in the process whereby rhizobia manage to dominate the process of induced tip growth for root hair infection. Map-based cloning of RPG revealed a member of a previously unknown plant-specific gene family encoding putative long coiled-coil proteins we have called RRPs (RPG-related proteins) and characterized by an "RRP domain" specific to this family. RPG expression was strongly associated with rhizobial infection, and the RPG protein showed a nuclear localization, indicating that this symbiotic gene constitutes an important component of symbiotic signaling.

Legume–rhizobial symbiosis: an anorexic model?

Legume–rhizobial symbiosis: an anorexic model?

Abstracts of Nippon Dojo-Hiryogaku Zasshi

Abstracts of Nippon Dojo-Hiryogaku Zasshi

Surgery for asymptomatic pilonidal sinus disease

Asymptomatic pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) discovered incidentally is regarded as a precursor of symptomatic disease, which is characterized by intradermal hair eliciting an inflammatory reaction. We aimed to investigate whether asymptomatic PSD already shows inflammation, though clinically inapparent, or represents a 'virgin' sinus. One thousand seven hundred and thirty-one medical records of patients presenting with primary PSD, which underwent surgery, were analysed to identify patients with surgically resected incidental PSD. Acute purulent pilonidal disease was seen in 514 of 1,731, whereas chronic fistulating pilonidal disease was the most common diagnosis group with 1,019 of 1,731 (58.9%). One hundred and forty-three of 1,731 (8.3%) patients had a previous chronic remitting pilonidal sinus. A total of 55 (3.2%) patients with clinically asymptomatic PSD were identified. Histological workup documented hair in 64.6% (1,119/1,731), with comparable rates between 68% and 71% in chronic fistulating disease, chronic remitting disease and incidental PSD (p = 0.80). Inflammation was found in 53 of 55 (96.4%) incidental PSD specimens, with two thirds (37 of 55) showing chronic inflammatory changes and one third (16 of 55) combining acute and chronic inflammation. Our findings support the idea that incidental PSD is a sub-clinically inflamed pilonidal sinus, with hair and chronic infection present. However, the data suggest that a prophylactic surgery for asymptomatic PSD provides no benefit for the patient compared to surgery in chronic PSD; thus, observational treatment is most likely sufficient for asymptomatic PSD.

Effects of Soil pH and Calcium Concentration on Root Hair Infection and Resting Spores of Plasmodiophora brassicae

Effects of Soil pH and Calcium Concentration on Root Hair Infection and Resting Spores of Plasmodiophora brassicae

Use of the Published Lance Armstrong Cancer Story to Teach Health Science Content to High School Students

Lance Armstrong (2000) authored a book titled It's Not About the Bike--My Journey Back to Life, regarding his battle with testicular cancer. It became a New York Times Bestseller and was selected by the School Library Journal as one of the Best Adult Books for High School Students for 2001. The goal of this project was to determine if this published medical story, along with Mr. Armstrong's status as a world-renowned athlete, could foster interested learning about biology and relevant normal human biology for teachers and their students. A professional development workshop was designed and offered on two occasions to different groups of K-14 teachers (N = 52), and a tele-teaching program was offered multiple times to different groups of Grade 7-12 students (N = 117). A professional evaluator external to the project evaluated both arms of this study. These sessions were part of a statewide outreach program called the Partners in Health Sciences (PIHS) program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). PIHS began in 1991 (Burns, 2002) and as of August 1, 2006 has recorded 66,482 hours of training consumed by 17,004 participants (9,596 of which were Grades 712 students). The PIHS program has included a large amount of cancer-related content (Burns & Lindsey, 2004). Protocol Used Quotes related to the medical and biological aspects of Mr. Armstrong's story were taken from the book (with permission from the publisher) and used as interest hooks/gateways to engage the audience in learning the relevant health science content. The normal and/or cell biology pertaining to each quotation became the workshop syllabus. The title of the workshop and the ITV sessions was: Testicular Cancer and Other Tumors of the Germ Cells: Male and Female - A Detailed Look at the Lance Armstrong Cancer Story. What follows are abbreviated versions of the content presented/discussed in the teacher workshop. The workshop syllabus is at available online at: http://k12education.uams.edu. Sample Syllabus Content I Have Cancer. I'm 25. Why Should I Have Cancer? A neoplasm is a new growth/formation in the body originating in one's own cells, probably as an event in a single cell. Neoplasms exist in two major forms: benign or malignant. All malignant neoplasms are called cancers. Although actually means a swelling, the word tumor is commonly used in place of cancer or neoplasm. In general, the incidence of increases as age increases, but there are certain types of cancers that have a peak incidence in the decades of life. Although a rare disease, testicular has its peak incidence in young men age 18-30. Thus the importance of TSE (testicular self-examination) in this age range (TSE cards were obtained from the Lance Armstrong Foundation and given to all participants). Cancer, unlike an inflammatory process such as an infected hair follicle, abscessed tooth, ingrown toenail, etc., is not usually associated with pain in its stages. Without pain as a warning sign, an stage can be present, but completely un-noticed by the host and the doctor, i.e., it is clinically silent. This is why BSE (breast self examination), TSE, mammography, colonoscopy, digital rectal exam of the prostate, stool guaiac, blood and urine tests, chest X-ray, etc. are so important. They are designed to detect the presence of when the person does not know that is present because nothing hurts and nothing is wrong with any bodily function. It requires a mass containing one billion tumor cells to become morphologically/clinically observable as a very small lesion. It can take several years and 20-30 doublings to produce the one billion cells from the single cell beginning. Consequently, a tumor mass that is diagnosed early by current technological means actually contains at least one billion cells and probably has been silently present for months to years. …

Cutaneous Manifestations of Staphylococcus aureus Disease

Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogen in clinical infectious disease. The cutaneous manifestations can vary dramatically from a simple infected hair follicle to a life-threatening illness such as toxic shock syndrome or staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. The authors review the variety of manifestations of various S aureus infections on the skin.

Abstracts of Nippon Dojo-Hiryogaku Zasshi

Abstracts of Nippon Dojo-Hiryogaku Zasshi

Fungal volatile fingerprints and machine learning: potential of discriminating and classifying dermatophyte species

Background Dermatophytes are responsible for one of the most common human fungal infectious diseases in the world – a leading cause of hair, nail and skin infections in humans known as tinea or ringworm. Conventional laboratory diagnoses comprising microscopy, in vitro culture and biochemical tests are time consuming (over three weeks), tedious and require skilled personnel. Molecular diagnostic approaches such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), PCR-fingerprinting, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and restriction enzyme techniques have shown improvements but are neither very cost effective nor feasible for routine clinical testing.

A novel ex vivo skin model to study the susceptibility of the dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum to photodynamic treatment in different growth phases

Dermatophytes are fungi that can cause infections of skin, hair and nails because of their ability to feed on keratin. Superficial mycoses are among the most prevalent infectious diseases worldwide. Two important restrictions of current therapeutic options are the recurrence of the infection and prolonged treatment. This is especially true for infections caused by Trichophyton rubrum, a widely distributed dermatophyte. The application of photosensitizers for treatment of fungal infections is, within the field of photodynamic treatment (PDT), relatively new. Recently, we demonstrated that the porphyrins 5,10,15-tris(4-methylpyridinium)-20-phenyl-[21H,23H]-porphine trichloride (Sylsens B) and deuteroporphyrin monomethylester (DP mme) were excellent photosensitizers towards T. rubrum when using red light. To evaluate the photodynamic effectiveness of the porphyrins in a situation that mimics the clinical situation, we developed an ex vivo model using human stratum corneum. This model offers the possibility of applying PDT at different time points during the germination and subsequent development of T. rubrum microconidia. The model was used for two different incubation media, Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) and distilled water. We demonstrated that the PDT susceptibility of T. rubrum depended on the time of PDT application after spore inoculation. A decrease in susceptibility was observed with increasing time of PDT application for both photosensitizers in DMEM. Changing the incubation medium to distilled water resulted in an increased fungicidal effect for Sylsens B and in a decreased effect for DP mme. We conclude that T. rubrum is susceptible to PDT in a situation that mimics the clinical situation. The fungicidal effect of PDT on fungal spores is of particular importance.

Use of isolated infected spores to determine the sporocidal efficacy of two commercial antifungal rinses against Microsporum canis

In this study, isolated infective Microsporum canis spores were used in an in vitro test model to compare the sporocidal activity of two commercial topical antifungal rinses. The two commercial test solutions used in the study were a lime sulphur solution 97.8% (LymDyp) and miconazole base 5.2%/chlorhexidine gluconate 5.9% mixture (Malaseb Concentrate Rinse). Water and household bleach were used as controls. Isolated infective spores were harvested from infected hairs and 500 microL of the spore suspension was incubated with an equal volume of dilutions of lime sulphur or the miconazole/chlorhexidine gluconate combination for 5 min and 4 h followed by fungal culture. There were too many to count colonies on the water control plates. Lime sulphur was 100% sporocidal at all test dilutions at both times. Miconazole/chlorhexidine gluconate was 100% sporocidal at all but the 1 : 128 dilution after 5 min of incubation and 100% sporocidal when incubated with spores for 4 h. It is not known if the two products have similar antifungal activity against infective spores on or within hairs; however, based on the findings of this study there is good evidence to recommend either rinse as an adjuvant topical therapy in a dermatophyte treatment and control program.

Superficial cutaneous Trichosporon asahii infection in an immunocompetent host

A 16-year-old schoolgirl presented with a complaint of enlarging erythematous and mildly pruritic patches located on the buttocks of 2 years’ duration. She had been treated with a potent topical corticosteroid for many months without apparent benefit. She was in otherwise good health. She denied a history of hair infection, previous eruptions, asthma, or hay fever. No one in her family or friends had similar lesions. She had no pets in her house. Examination revealed the presence of two erythematous and slightly indurated plaques measuring approximately 16 cm × 9 cm and 6 cm × 11 cm in diameter on her right and left buttocks, respectively (Fig. 1). Similar progressively enlarging lesions were present on the dorsum of her right hand, extending to the extensor aspect of the forearm and to the lateral, inner, palmar, and extensor aspects of the second, third, and fourth fingers, and on the dorsum of her left hand up to the flexor aspect of the wrist. A few erythematous papules clustering around these plaques in a satellite fashion were also detectable. Her scalp, pubic, axillary, eyebrow, and eyelash hair appeared normal with no concretions or soft, lightly pigmented, white to light-brown, loosely attached, irregularly spaced nodules. There was no regional or generalized lymphadenopathy or hepatosplenomegaly. Routine laboratory investigations, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, and standard patch tests were negative. Figure 1Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Erythematous and slightly indurated plaques on the right and left buttocks A skin biopsy specimen from the right buttock showed parakeratosis and acanthosis in the epidermis, with some neutrophils within the parakeratotic crust, and a mild inflammatory infiltrate in the dermis. In the stratum corneum, fungal hyphae were detectable by periodic acid–Schiff (PAS) staining (Fig. 2). Direct microscopic examination with 15% potassium hydroxide (KOH) preparation of scale showed pseudohyphae. Two mycotic cultures were obtained: the first on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) medium (2% glucose, 1% mycologic peptone, 0.5% yeast extract, 1.5% agar; Oxoid Ltd, Basingstoke, UK) supplemented with chloramphenicol (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA) and cycloheximide (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA) incubated for 2 weeks at 25 °C; the second on SDA medium supplemented with chloramphenicol and gentamycin (Oxoid Ltd, Basingstoke, UK) incubated for 2 weeks at 30 °C (Fig. 3). Figure 2Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Skin biopsy from a tissue specimen in which fungal hyphae were detectable in the stratum corneum (periodic acid–Schiff, ×40) Figure 3Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Mycologic culture of isolated Trichosporon sp. (Sabouraud dextrose agar medium with chloramphenicol and gentamycin) The cultures yielded cream-colored, wrinkled colonies, microscopic examination (with lactophenol cotton blue) of which showed true hyphae, pseudohyphae, a few blastoconidia, and rectangular arthroconidia typical of Trichosporon sp. (Fig. 4). These colonies were identified as Trichosporon asahii by cornmeal agar medium with the addition of Tween-80, according to the Dalmau plate technique (Fig. 5), and on API 20C AUX assimilation assay (BioMerieux, Inc., Lyon, France). Figure 4Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Features of Trichosporon sp. at microscopic examination (lactophenol cotton blue stain, ×100) Figure 5Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Morphologic characteristics of Trichosporon asahii (cornmeal agar medium with the addition of Tween-80, ×40) The patient was given oral itraconazole (200 mg/day) and topical tioconazole cream for 6 weeks, which produced complete clinical and mycologic cure (Fig. 6). No relapse was observed at the 6-month follow-up. Figure 6Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Clinical aspect after treatment