TGF-beta plasma levels in chromoblastomycosis patients during itraconazole treatment.

Background: Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) is a dermal mycosis. The disease evolves to a chronic state, presenting a suppurative granulomatous dermatitis, combined with variable dermal fibrosis. Pathogenesis of the inflammation and tissue repair in CBM are poorly understood.

Development of natural culture media for rapid induction of Fonsecaea pedrosoi sclerotic cells in vitro.

Fonsecaea pedrosoi is the main agent of chromoblastomycosis, a skin disease presenting verrucous lesions, in which round, thick-walled sclerotic cells are found. In vitro induction of sclerotic cells is time-consuming (20 to 45 days) and temperature dependent. We present two new natural media that reduce the sclerotic-cell induction time to only 2 days.

Enzymatic isolation of Lacazia loboi cells from skin lesions of lobomycosis.

Lacazia loboi is the etiologic agent of Jorge Lobo's disease, a cutaneous and subcutaneous mycosis endemic to Latin America tropical regions and characterized by chronic nodular or keloidal lesions which develop after traumatic events. A new method for the extraction of L. loboi yeast cells from biopsies of lobomycosis skin lesions is presented.

Phagocytosis of Fonsecaea pedrosoi conidia, but not sclerotic cells caused by Langerhans cells, inhibits CD40 and B7-2 expression.

Fonsecaea pedrosoi is the major etiological agent of chromoblastomycosis, a chronic, suppurative, granulomatous mycosis usually confined to skin and subcutaneous tissues, presenting a worldwide distribution. The host defense mechanisms in chromoblastomycosis have not been extensively investigated. Langerhans cells (LC) are bone-marrow-derived, dendritic antigen-presenting cells of the epidermis, which constitutively express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, and comprise 1-3% of total epidermal cells.

Isolation of Fonsecaea pedrosoi from thorns of Mimosa pudica, a probable natural source of chromoblastomycosis.

We report the isolation of Fonsecaea pedrosoi from thorns of the plant Mimosa pudica L. at the place of infection identified by one of our patients. Clinical diagnosis of chromoblastomycosis was established by direct microscopic examination and cultures from the patient's lesion.