3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR, EC1.1.1.34), the key enzyme in isoprenoid biosynthesis, was purified from microsomes of potato tuber tissue, and a polyclonal antibody and two monoclonal antibodies against the purified enzyme were prepared. HMGR protein content was measured by immunotitration and radioimmunoassay using these antibodies. HMGR activity was very low in the fr...

Background. Whether routine antifungal prophylaxis decreases posttransplantation fungal infections in patients receiving orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of antifungal prophylaxis for patients receiving OLT. Patients and Methods. This is a retrospective analysis of a database at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. We have been adm...

To investigate the clinical feature, risk factors and outcome of treatment in patients with liver failure complicated by invasive fungal infections. Retrospective analysis of the clinical data and related factors of 27 patients with liver failure complicated by invasive fungal infections was performed. These patients were admitted from January 2007 to August 2009 in our department. Among them, ...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to develop and characterize a new contact lens-associated fungal keratitis rat model and to assess the ability of non-invasive spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) to detect pathological changes in vivo in fungal keratitis. METHODS We used SD-OCT to image and measure the cornea of Sprague Dawley rats. Fusarium infection was initiated in the r...

We have established a mouse model of corneal fusariosis that permits the evaluation of fungal infection and pathogenesis. Corneas of immunocompetent and cyclophosphamide-treated adult BALB/c mice were topically inoculated with Fusarium solani after corneal scarification. Eyes were scored for corneal involvement daily for 8 days and at 2 weeks after infection. Eyes were enucleated at various tim...

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a key hormone involved in red blood cell formation, but its effects on nonerythroid cells, such as macrophages, have not been described. Macrophages are key cells in controlling histoplasmosis, a fungal infection caused by Histoplasma capsulatum (Hc). Considering that little is known about EPO's role during fungal infections and its capacity to activate macrophages, in t...

Aspergillus fumigatus is responsible for a disproportionate number of invasive mycosis cases relative to other common filamentous fungi. While many fungal factors critical for infection establishment are known, genes essential for disease persistence and progression are ill defined. We propose that fungal factors that promote navigation of the rapidly changing nutrient and structural landscape ...

Fungal invasive infections are an increasing health problem. The intrinsic complexity of pathogenic fungi and the unmet clinical need for new and more effective treatments requires a detailed knowledge of the infection process. During infection, fungal pathogens are able to trigger a specific transcriptional program in their host cells. The detailed knowledge of this transcriptional program wil...

The possibility that Alzheimer's disease (AD) has a microbial aetiology has been proposed by several researchers. Here, we provide evidence that tissue from the central nervous system (CNS) of AD patients contain fungal cells and hyphae. Fungal material can be detected both intra- and extracellularly using specific antibodies against several fungi. Different brain regions including external fro...

Fungal endocarditis is an uncommon but important problem after cardiac surgery. Two cases of fungal endocarditis after homograft valve replacement are reported. In both patients prolonged periods of antifungal chemotherapy with apparently satisfactory clinical responses ultimately failed to eradicate the infection. Both patients remain free of infection two years after excision of the infected ...