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Cryptococcus neoformans
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On Friday, January 31, 2014 Dr. Indrani Bose gave a seminar about her area of research, and discussed her research objectives. The title of the seminar was “Using RNA Interference to Understand the Virulence and Biology of the Yeast Cryptococcus neoformans”. At the beginning, she first compared and contrasted the budding yeasts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Cryptococcus neoformans. According to Dr. Bose in the mini-review, A Yeast under Cover: the Capsule of Cryptococcus Neoformans, “C. neoformans is a fungus that is ubiquitous in the environment, where it is found in soil, in association with certain trees, and in bird guano (16)” (1). She also stated because of its ubiquity, that most people had probably been exposed to it from a young age. I learned that Cryptococcus neoformans causes Cryptococcosis, which can lead to a pulmonary infection. In an immunocompetent individual, after the pulmonary infection has taken place, they will remain mostly asymptomatic, and in the end, they will survive; however, in an immunocompromised individual, usually either Meningitis or Meningoencephalitis take place, which can lead to an infection of the kidneys, or deep tissues. An infection of this stature can lead to death. The populations that are at risk to catch these diseases are AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) victims, patients that have had transplant procedure, and any person that is undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. According to Dr. Bose, “AIDS immunocompromised individuals have a 30-60% mortality rate, and 5-10% of those individuals will develop Meningoencephalitis.”
Typically speaking, humans do not experience fungal disease; whereas plants and animals do. There are a few antifungal medicines in use today, these are Amp...
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...cells that did well with URA-5 would survive treatment with 5-fluororotic acid, the cells that did poorly with URA-5 would not survive the treatment, and that a library was created for the genes to create a double stranded Cryptococcus neoformans RNA. Dr. Bose is now working toward her goals of discovering and developing drugs that can fight this fungi, and hopefully will become a medication to eliminate this disease, and save lives.
Work Cited:
1. Bose, I , AJ Reese, JJ Ory, G Janbon and TL Doering (2003). A yeast under cover: The capsule of Cryptococcus neoformans. Eukaryotic Cell 2(4): 655-663.
2. Stylianou, Marios; Kulesskiy, Evgeny; Lopes, Jose P.; Granlund, Margareta; Wennerberg, Krister; Urban, Contantin. Antifungal Application of Nonantifungal Drugs. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. February 2014 58:2 1055-1062; 25 November 2013.
Trabelsi, H., Dendana, F., Sellami, A., Sellami, H., Cheikhrouhou, F., Neji, S., … Ayadi, A. (2012). Pathogenic
For medical care, no treatment is needed for those who are asymptomatic, just monitoring for mild symptoms (2). For those who cannot fight the disease as easily as the majority, there are an array of treatments available. To start, blood cultures should be performed in all patients, and sputum cultures should be taken for those with chronic histoplasmosis (2). Chest radiology would be preferred for individuals with acute pulmonary histoplasmosis, steroids and possible laser treatment for ocular histoplasmosis, and CT scans for those with cerebral histoplasmosis (2). With prolonged symptoms of more than 4 weeks, medical therapy via itraconazole is recommended for 6-12 weeks, followed by chest imaging (2). Bronchiectasis caused by the microbe is treated with either a bronchoscopy or surgical removal (3). Phrenological treatments to histoplasmosis include amphorcetericin B, ketoconazole, itraconazole, and fluconazole (3). Currently, antifungal agents are being developed to offer alternative treatment (3). To successfully survive as a pathogen, the virus must change itself on a micro level to survive changing conditions, macrophages, and other threats to the fungi’s reproduction (4). Being able to go from an environmental mold to an intercellular yeast is extremely useful for a microbe in an ecosystem that fights for control of those it infects (4). These advantages present within histoplasmosis are what keeps it as a cause of respiratory and systemic disease in mammals (4). There are plenty of treatments available to accommodate all forms of histoplasmosis, making it a microbe that is very simple to cure, despite how hard it tries to
middle of paper ... ... omomas aeroginosa. Meanwhile, a study made by Palmer found that inhaled antibiotics used as adjunct to systemic antibiotic therapy has proven to improve the clinical outcome of patients with MDR VAP (6). The study also showed a direct relationship between antibiotic resistance with the se of systematic antibiotics.
Plenty of fungal problems exist, including athlete’s foot, jock itch, ringworm, and onychomycosis (fungal infection beneath nails). However, many antifungal drugs exist as well, such as Lamisil, which is the most effective. Using the molecule terbinafine hydrochloride, it puts holes in the cell membranes of fungal cells, and can destroy fungi. Despite this, Lamisil has many problems such as harmful side effects, and a high cost, and can therefore be vastly improved. Some of Lamisil’s competitors, such as Tinactin, offer a similar medication for a cheaper price, and other analogs of the drug could prove to be safer and even more effective. For now though, Lamisil, the 87th best selling prescription drug in the world, is the best antifungal medication1.
Disease and parasitism play a pervasive role in all life. Many of these diseases start with microparasites, which are characterized by their ability to reproduce directly within an individual host. They are also characterized by their small size, short duration of infection, and the production of an immune response in infected and recovered individuals. Microparasites which damage hosts in the course of their association are recognized as pathogens. The level of the interaction and the extent of the resultant damage depends on both the virulence of the pathogen, as well as the host defenses. If the pathogen can overcome the host defenses, the host will be damaged and may not survive. If on the other hand the host defenses overcome the pathogen, the microparasite may fail to establish itself within the host and die.
Based on the research that has been conducted by Gupta (2005), Bhapkar et. al (2013), Subissi et. al (2010), and ciclopirox is available in 8% nail lacquer topical solution. Ciclopirox nail lacquer is a clear, colourless pale to yellow solution that is used to treat the infection on the fingernails and toenails and this each gram ciclopirox nail lacquer do contain 80 mg of ciclopirox (Gupta, 2005). For these ciclopirox derivatives, ciclopirox is an active ingredient to treat the onychomycosis safely and effectively. This can be seen in the Bhapkar et. al (2013) that ciclopirox nail lacquer is the first topical agent that has been used by the Canada population and the only topical antifungal that has been approved in Canada in order to treat onychomycosis.
The yeast is already there. A number of factors can increase the chance of the yeast growing out of control. The leading cause is overuse of antibiotics. Yeast must compete for the right to live on us with various other organisms, many of them bacteria. These bacteria, which live on the skin and in the intestine and vagina, among other places, are harmless but good at fighting off yeast. When we take antibiotics to deal with less friendly bacteria, we kill off these harmless ones as well. Yeast, which is unaffected by antibiotics, moves into the vacated spots once occupied by bacteria, and starts to grow and
Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease characterized by the buildup of thick, sticky mucous that can cause severe damage to the body’s organs. Mucous is usually a slippery substance that lubricates and protects the linings of the airway, digestive system, reproductive system and other organs and tissue. Problems with digestion can lead to diarrhea, malnutrition, poor growth, and weight-loss. Due to the abnormally thick mucous it can can clog airways, leading to breathing problems and bacterial infections in the lungs. Bacterial infections can lead to coughing, wheezing and inflammation. Overtime these infections can lead to permanent damage in the lungs including the formation of scar tissue, known as fibrosis and cysts in the lungs (Genetics Home Reference, 2013). The symptoms and signs of this disease vary but mostly include progressive damage to the respiratory system and chronic digestive system problems. An individuals’ lungs who are infected by cystic fibrosis have bacteria from an early stage. This bacteria can spread to the small airways, leading to the formation of bacterial micro-environments known as biofilms. Biofilms are difficult for antibodies to penetrate, therefore the bacteria repeatedly damage the lung and gradually remodel the airways, resulting in difficultly to eradicate the infection (Welsh, 1995). Cystic fibrosis patients may even have their airways chronically colonized be filamentous fungi and/or yeasts. Most men with cystic fibrosis have congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD), a condition in which the tubes that carry sperm are blocked by mucous and do not develop properly. As well, women may experience complications in pregnancy. Either the c...
Almost all biology students learn the fundamentals of gene expression, DNA contains information which is transcribed into RNA to create protein. Students however, are not taught of RNA Interference, the biological process where RNA molecules inhibit a gene’s expression, RNAi for short. While RNAi is a fairly new discovery, its use in modern biological research is groundbreaking. RNA Interference works by binding Double-stranded RNA molecules (siRNA) to a complementary messenger RNA. The enzymes Dicer and Slicer then cleave the chemical bonds which hold the messeger RNA in place and prevent it from delivering protein silencing instructions thus, the term, Gene Silencing. This phenomenon was first discovered by Richard Jorgensen in 1990 when he was trying to produce deeper purple colored petunias by introducing more purple pigment genes to the flower. To his surprise, the purple petunia turned completely white and got the opposite of his predicted result. At the time Jorgensen coined this effect, “Cosuppression”. It was not until 1998 that Andrew Fire and Craig, C Mello explained the process of RNAi and discovered its use in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. Elegans). In 2006 Fire and Mello won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discover of RNA Interference – gene silencing by double stranded RNA”. They utilized the nematode, C. Elegans due to its whole genome being sequenced. This unique characteristic allows for every gene to be tested
Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogen that can cause Cryptococcal meningitis. Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungus that can be found in soil contaminated with bird feces. It can also be found in fruits, milk, plants and in human feces (Davis, 2011). This type of fungus produces airborne spores into the environment. These spores can then be inhaled by humans. This is the only means by which an individual can become infected with cryptococcosis. Cryptococcosis is not a contagious disease. Therefore, it cannot be transmitted from one person to another. Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic pathogen. Once an individual inhales these spores, they can become infected and develop what is known as Cryptococcal meningitis. However, not everyone develops cryptococcal meningitis. For the most part, when healthy individuals inhale these spores they usually don’t get infected with cryptococcosis. On the other hand, individuals with an immunodeficiency due to an illness like HIV or AIDS, are highly susceptible to cryptococcosis. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, cryptococcosis is one of the common causes of deaths for people who are infected with HIV or AIDS. This infection is very prominent especially in poor countries where treatment and prevention of cryptococcosis is unattainable. One example, is in sub-Saharan Africa, where one third to over one half of the people infected with HIV/AIDS die due to Cryptoccoccal meningitis (CDC, 2012).
Yeast Yeast are a tiny form of fungi or plant-like microorganism (visible only under a microscope) that exist in or on all living matter i.e. water, soil, plants, air, etc. A common example of a yeast is the bloom we can observe on grapes. As a living organism yeast needs sugars, water and warmth to stay alive. In addition, albumen or nitrogenous material are also necessary for yeast to thrive.
...ional Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Microbiology is the biological study of organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye (1). Microbiology includes examining a variety of different microbes such as bacteria, archaea, protozoa, fungi and viruses (1). By examining these microbes, their relationship with people and the environment they grow in, is better understood. These examinations of microbes have played a major role in comprehending how microbes can be helpful and harmful, and how they should best be dealt with. With new and emerging discoveries in microbiology, medical treatments have expanded. In integrating the understanding of microbes in the field of medicine, finding cures to combat harmful diseases, such as HIV, can be better developed.
The main focus of the researches here is the agricultural sciences. At the first, my goal was to continue study antimicrobial compounds to use in animal health. However, due to cases of depression in my family, I would like to use my knowledge in Microbiology to study this.
Most of them are multicellular organism, with the exception of a few that are single cells called yeasts. In the beginnings of the studies of the living organisms the fungi was related in a closer way with the plants, because of similarities in lifestyle. But with the development of the Mycology, which is the branch that study the fungi, it was found that the fungi, even thought have similar characteristics with the animals and plants, it constituted a unique kingdom itself. One of the most general misunderstanding related with the fungi, is that it’s common to think that, as plant, they use the process of photosynthesis to elaborate their food, but they don’t. Instead, they used a method more similar to the animal digestive process, by using enzymes that break down nutrients into smaller pieces that they can then absorb. Fungi can cause a number of plant and animal diseases: in humans, ringworm, athlete 's foot, and several more serious diseases are caused by fungi. Because fungi are more chemically and genetically similar to animals than other organisms, this makes fungal diseases very difficult to treat. Many studies and researches are destined to investigate how to prevent and control the impact of Fungi in human society. Fungi are tremendously important to the planet we live on. They provide fundamental products including foods, medicines, and enzymes important to