This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Morris-Jones, R.
Right arrow Articles by Hamilton, A. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Morris-Jones, R.
Right arrow Articles by Hamilton, A. J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 2004, p. 3789-3794, Vol. 42, No. 8
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.8.3789-3794.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Scytalidium dimidiatum Causing Recalcitrant Subcutaneous Lesions Produces Melanin

R. Morris-Jones,1* S. Youngchim,1,2 J. M. Hextall,1 B. L. Gomez,1 S. D. Morris-Jones,3 R. J. Hay,1 A. Casadevall,4,5 J. D. Nosanchuk,4 and A. J. Hamilton1

Dermatology Department, St John's Institute of Dermatology, Guy's Hospital, Guy's, Kings and St Thomas' Medical Schools,1 Department of Microbiology, St Thomas' Hospital, London, United Kingdom,3 Microbiology Department, Chiang-Mai Medical School, Chiang-Mai, Thailand,2 Department of Medicine,4 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York5

Received 15 January 2004/ Returned for modification 11 March 2004/ Accepted 7 April 2004

Scytalidium dimidiatum is a pigmented dematiaceous coelomycete that typically causes chronic superficial skin diseases and onychomycosis, as well as deeper infections, such as subcutaneous abscesses, mycetoma, and even fungemia in immunocompromised patients. A second species, Scytalidium hyalinum, has hyaline hyphae and arthroconidia and is considered by some authors to be an albino mutant of S. dimidiatum. This study aimed to confirm the presence of melanin or melanin-like compounds (which have been previously implicated in the virulence of other fungal pathogens) in S. dimidiatum from a patient with multiple subcutaneous nodules. Treatment of the hyphae and arthroconidia with proteolytic enzymes, denaturant, and concentrated hot acid yielded dark particles, which were stable free radicals, consistent with their identification as melanins. Extracted melanin particles from S. dimidiatum cultures were labeled by melanin-binding monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) from Sporothrix schenckii, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Cryptococcus neoformans. Lesional skin from the patient infected with S. dimidiatum contained fungal cells that were labeled by melanin-binding MAbs, and digestion of the tissue yielded dark particles that were also reactive. S. hyalinum was also subjected to the melanin extraction protocol, but no dark particles were yielded.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dermatology Laboratory, 5th Floor TGH, Guy's Hospital, London, SE1 9RT, United Kingdom. Phone: 00 44 (0)207 188 6413. Fax: 00 44 (0)207 188 6424. E-mail: themojos{at}boltblue.com.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 2004, p. 3789-3794, Vol. 42, No. 8
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.8.3789-3794.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Elinav, H., Izhar, U., Benenson, S., Admon, D., Hidalgo-Grass, C., Polacheck, I., Korem, M. (2009). Invasive Scytalidium dimidiatum Infection in an Immunocompetent Adult. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 1259-1263 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lacroix, C., de Chauvin, M. F. (2008). In vitro activity of amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, caspofungin and terbinafine against Scytalidium dimidiatum and Scytalidium hyalinum clinical isolates. J Antimicrob Chemother 61: 835-837 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»