Millions of people and animals suffer from superficial infections caused by a group of highly specialized filamentous fungi, the dermatophytes, which only infect keratinized structures. With the appearance of AIDS, the incidence of dermatophytosis has increased. Current drug therapy used for these infections is often toxic, long-term, and expensive and has limited effectiveness; therefore, the discovery of new anti dermatophytic compounds is a necessity. Natural products have been the most productive source for new drug development. This paper provides a brief review of the current literature regarding the presence of dermatophytes in immunocompromised patients, drug resistance to conventional treatments and new anti dermatophytic treatments.

The aim of this study was to standardize the extractive solution of Syzygium cumini. The extractive solution was selected through a full factorial design, considering the extraction method (maceration-5-days, turbo extraction, percolation), extractor solvent (ethanol 50, 70, 96%) and plant material particle size 0.302 mm into a plant:solvent ratio (1:10), using the dried residue and antimicrobial activity determination as evaluation criteria. The tests were performed in triplicate. It appeared that the percolation is the best procedure extractive, and ethanol mixture: water (50:50) the best solvent. ANOVA analysis showed the importance of these parameters.

No contexto de nossas pesquisas por novos agentes antifúngicos obtidos da flora brasileira, oito extratos e doze frações de Pterogyne nitens Tul., Fabaceae, foram submetidos ao ensaio antifúngico pelo método de microdiluição, contra quatro espécies de fungos oportunistas, Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis e Cryptococcus neoformans. Este trabalho revelou que os extratos e frações de P. nitens foram mais ativos contra C. krusei e C. parapsilosis quando comparados a C. neoformans, sendo que o crescimento de C. albicans foi moderadamente afetado por todos os extratos e frações. As atividades mais potentes foram observadas para as frações n-butanólica dos galhos (CIM = 15,6 μg/mL) e raízes (CIM = 31,2 μg/mL) contra C. krusei. Adicionalmente, a fração n-butanólica dos galhos foi submetida ao fracionamento cromatográfico, resultando no isolamento de quatro alcaloides guanidínicos, sendo N-1,N-2,N-3-tri-isopentenilguanidina (1), descrito pela primeira vez em espécies da família Fabaceae e nitensidinas A-C (2-4), os quais apresentaram atividade antifúngica moderada contra C. krusei (CIM = 62,5 μg/mL) e C. parapsilosis (CIM = 31,2 μg/mL).

As part of our ongoing research on antifungal agents from Brazilian flora, eight extracts and twelve fractions from Pterogyne nitens Tul., Fabaceae, were screened for antimicrobial activity against four opportunistic fungi species (Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis and Cryptococcus neoformans) using a broth microdilution method. The present investigation reveals that P. nitens extracts and fractions were more effective against C. krusei and C. parapsilosis than against C. neoformans. The growth of C. albicans was moderately affected by all tested extracts and fractions. The strongest effects were observed for n-butanol fractions from branches (MIC = 15.6 μg/mL) and roots (MIC = 31.2 μg/mL) against C. krusei. Additionally, the chromatographic fractionation of the n-butanol fraction from branches afforded four guanidine alkaloids; N-1,N-2,N-3-triisopentenylguanidine (1), described for the first time in the Fabaceae family, and nitensidines A-C (2-4), which showed moderate activity towards C. krusei (MIC = 62.5 μg/mL) and C. parapsilosis (MIC = 31.2 μg/mL).

Paracoccidioidomycosis presents a variety of clinical manifestations and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis can reach many tissues, most importantly the lungs. The ability of the pathogen to interact with host surface structures is essential to its virulence. The interaction between P. brasiliensis and epithelial cells has been studied, with particular emphasis on the induction of apoptosis. To investigate the expression of different apoptosis-inducing pathways in human A549 cells, we infected these cells with P. brasiliensis Pb18SP (subcultured) and 18R (recently isolated from cell culture and showing a high adhesion pattern) samples in vitro. The expressions of Bcl-2, Bak and caspase 3 were analysed by flow cytometry and DNA fragmentation using the TUNEL technique. Apoptosis of human A549 cells was induced by P. brasiliensis in a sample and time-dependent manner. Using an in vitro model, our data demonstrates that caspase 3, Bak, Bcl-2 and DNA fragmentation mediate P. brasiliensis-induced apoptosis in A549 cells. The overall mechanism is a complex process, which may involve several signal transduction pathways. These findings could partially explain the efficient behaviour of this fungus in promoting tissue infection and/or blood dissemination.

Trichophyton rubrum é um importante agente causal de dermatomicose. Os métodos de tipagem molecular têm sido recentemente desenvolvidos para responder questões sobre epidemiologia e auxiliar no esclarecimento de recidivas, após o tratamento. As seqüências aleatórias 1- (5'-d[GGTGCGGGAA]-3') e 6- (5'-d[CCCGTCAGCA]-3') foram usadas para tipagem molecular deste fungo por RAPD produzindo variabilidade intraespecífica. Cinco padrões foram observados entre os 10 isolados de T. rubrum, com ambas as seqüências. Foi concluído que a análise por RAPD pode ser utilizada para estudos epidemiológicos.

Trichophyton rubrum is an important cause of dermatomycoses. Molecular strain typing methods have recently been developed to address questions about epidemiology and source of relapse following treatment. This report describes the application of RAPD for molecular strain differentiation of this fungus utilizing the primers 1- (5'-d[GGTGCGGGAA]-3') and 6- (5'-d[CCCGTCAGCA]-3'). A total of five RAPD patterns were observed among 10 strains of T. rubrum, with each of the primers used. We conclude that RAPD analysis using primers 1 and 6 can be used in epidemiological studies.