Using pharmacological and biochemical approaches, Ca2+ involved in the betulin production in mycelia of Phellinus linteus induced by hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were investigated. The results showed that 2 mM H2S donor NaHS or 10 mM CaCl2 was found to enhance the betulin content in the mycelia of Phellinus to the maximum, which were 112.43 and 93.24 % higher than that in the control, respectively. F...

Cutaneous mycoses have been rarely reported in Chelonians. A Testudo hermanni adult male showed a thick erosion of the dorsal neck covered by necrotic material. Trichosporon sp. was cultivated, while arthrospores and hyphae were observed in histological sections. The causative agent was identified as Trichosporon jirovecii by PCR. After a surgical intervention povidone iodine and Iruxol® ointme...

BACKGROUND Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is a serious risk for HIV-positive patients. Asymptomatic infection or colonisation with P. jirovecii has been shown to occur frequently. PCR assays frequently identify such cases, due to their high sensitivity. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) gene copy number cut-off values have been suggested to differentiate colonisation and infection; these need to ...

The appearance of primary HIV infection ranges from an asymptomatic presentation to a symptomatic illness resembling infectious mononucleosis. Severe unusual presentations include acute myopericarditis, renal failure, and opportunistic infections such as esophageal candidiasis, cytomegalovirus infection, and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. We report a case of multiple organ failure during pri...

A 39-year-old male with newly diagnosed HIV had cavitary pneumonia initially attributed to Pneumocystis jirovecii but actually caused by Rhodococcus equi. After neurological deterioration, he was found to have intracerebral lesions caused by Toxoplasma gondii. This case underscores the inability to rely on the search for a unifying diagnosis (Ockham's Razor) in HIV-infected patients.

Combined immune deficiencies (CID) are defined by severely impaired adaptive immunity leading to increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections, immune dysregulation and malignancies. CID of moderate severity may not lead to death in infancy but still carry a high burden of morbidity and mortality during childhood. Here we report a deleterious homozygous mutation in the Interleukin-21 rec...

A systematic review was conducted to examine the associations in Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) patients between dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) mutations and sulfa or sulfone (sulfa) prophylaxis and between DHPS mutations and sulfa treatment outcome. Selection criteria included study populations composed entirely of PCP patients and mutation or treatment outcome results for all patient...