• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.528-543
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• 1993

Vitamin E, which has its advocates in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. autoimmune disease, cancer and peripheral vascular and thromboembolic disease, has now been alleged to have a powerful antioxident effect and to affect various biological activities such as fertility factor, inhibition of human platelet aggregation and stabilization of biological membranes. The present study was designed to test whether vitamin I(alpha-tocopherol) can : (1) enhance the hemagglutinin response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), (2) modulate Arthus and delayed type hypersensitivity(DTH) to SRBC and contact hypersensitivity to dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB). (3) enhance the mitogenic response of murine splenocyte, (4) decrease the recovery of Cryptococcus neoformans from brain, lung, liver, spleen and kidney of infected mice and (5) have an inhibitory or enhancing effect on the induction of active systemic anaphylaxis(ASA) induced by chicken-gamma globulin (CGG) in mice. Mice were given either intramuscular injections of 0.3ml (300mg) of vitamin I before immunization or were infection for 10 consecutive days or were given by vitamin I esophageal intubation, 0.1ml(100mg), for 20 days before sacrifice for the mitogenic response experiments. It was found that vitamin E treated mice showed a significant enhancement in hemagglutinin response, Arthus reaction and DTH to SRBC and contact hypersensitivity to DNFB. There was no significant difference in the mitogenic response to phytohemagglutinin(PHA), but the response to concanavalin A(ConA) or pokeweed mitogem(PWM) was increased in vitamin E-treated mice. Interestingly, the vitamin E administration before C. neoformans infection decreased significantly the recovery of C. neoformans from brain lung, liver, spleen and kidney of the infected mice as compared with that of the control mice, strongly suggesting that vitamin E pretreatment may increase the resistance of mice to the fungal infection. Unexpectedly, vitamin E administration enhanced the production of CGG -induced ASA. Taken together, it can be concluded that vitamin I administration may in-crease the humoral and cellular immune response and resistance. to C. neoformans infection, but enhance the induction of ASA to CGG. Further studies are necessary to clarify the underlying mechanism accounting for these effects.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.102-107
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• 1996

Cryptococcosis is a systemic fungal infection caused by Cryptococcus neoformans. This mycosis is best known for meningeal involvement, yet, this disease rarely can be limited to the lungs. The usual portal of entry is respiratory tract. The recently rising incidence of the disease can be attributable to wide use of steroid, immunosuppressive agents and advent of AIDS. We experienced one case of pulmonary cryptococcosis in healthy person, who was admitted to the our hospital because of cough. Cryptococcus neoformans was isolated in the sputum, and lung tissue obtained by CT guide needle aspiration biopsy. Clinical improvement was noted after 6weeks of medical therapy with fluconazole.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.144-147
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• 2008

Inonotus obliquus could be isolated from Betula platyphylla var. japonica with diameter in the range of 6$\sim$13 cm that artificially inoculated by the fungus. The diameter and/or inoculation point of tree did not show any significant relationships with the infection rate of the fungus. Inonotus obliquus showed rapid growth on vertical direction of the infected tree while the growth was quite low on radial direction. The isolated fungus from the infected tree did not show vegetative incompatibility with the original fungus used for inoculation. We could isolate 8 contaminants from the inoculated area; Trichoderma reesei, T. atroviride, Cryptococcus neoformans, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium sp. and 3 unknown species.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.59-59
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• 2015

Cryptococcus neoformans causes life-threatening meningoencephalitis in humans, but the treatment of cryptococcosis remains challenging. To develop novel therapeutic targets and approaches, signaling cascades controlling pathogenicity of C. neoformans have been extensively studied but the underlying biological regulatory circuits remain elusive, particularly due to the presence of an evolutionarily divergent set of transcription factors (TFs) in this basidiomycetous fungus. In this study, we constructed a high-quality of 322 signature-tagged gene deletion strains for 155 putative TF genes, which were previously predicted using the DNA-binding domain TF database (http://www.transcriptionfactor.org/). We tested in vivo and in vitro phenotypic traits under 32 distinct growth conditions using 322 TF gene deletion strains. At least one phenotypic trait was exhibited by 145 out of 155 TF mutants (93%) and approximately 85% of the TFs (132/155) have been functionally characterized for the first time in this study. Through high-coverage phenome analysis, we discovered myriad novel TFs that play critical roles in growth, differentiation, virulence-factor (melanin, capsule, and urease) formation, stress responses, antifungal drug resistance, and virulence. Large-scale virulence and infectivity assays in insect (Galleria mellonella) and mouse host models identified 34 novel TFs that are critical for pathogenicity. The genotypic and phenotypic data for each TF are available in the C. neoformans TF phenome database (http://tf.cryptococcus.org). In conclusion, our phenome-based functional analysis of the C. neoformans TF mutant library provides key insights into transcriptional networks of basidiomycetous fungi and ubiquitous human fungal pathogens.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.123-126
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• 2009

Cryptococcosis is a subacute or chronic inflammation that's caused by infection from cryptococcus neoformans in the soil or dust that's contaminated by pigeon droppings. Pulmonary cryptococcosis occurs in immunocompromised patients, and particularly in HIV positive patients, but it rarely occurs in immunocompetent individuals. It is most often detected as asymptomatic single or multiple nodules that are found by chest X-ray examination. In these situations, the diagnosis for most cases is made by the histology of the resected lesion. We report here on a case of solitary nodular pulmonary cryptococcosis that occurred in a 32 years old female patient who underwent thyroidectomy for treating her thyroid cancer.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.50-53
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• 2015

Usually fungal infections caused by opportunistic and pathogenic fungi had been an important cause of morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised patients. However clinical data and investigations for immunocompetent pathogenic fungal infections had been rare and neglected into clinical studies. Especially Cryptococcal brainstem abscess cases mimicking brain tumors were also much more rare. So we report this unusual case. This 47-year-old man presented with a history of progressively worsening headache and nausea for 1 month and several days of vomituritions before admission. Neurological and laboratory examinations performed demonstrated no abnormal findings. Previously he was healthy and did not have any significant medical illnesses. A CT and MRI scan revealed enhancing $1.8{\times}1.7{\times}2.0$ cm mass lesion in the left pons having central necrosis and peripheral edema compressing the fourth ventricle. And also positron emission tomogram scan demonstrated a hot uptake of fluoro-deoxy-glucose on the brainstem lesion without any evidences of systemic metastasis. Gross total mass resection was achieved with lateral suboccipital approach with neuronavigation system. Postoperatively he recovered without any neurological deficits. Pathologic report confirmed Cryptococcus neoformans and he was successively treated with antifungal medications. This is a previously unreported rare case of brainstem Cryptococcal abscess mimicking brain tumors in immunocompetent host without having any apparent typical meningeal symptoms and signs with resultant good neurosurgical recovery.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.688-691
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• 1998

Antifungal activities of the compounds isolated from Kalopanax pictus against representative fungi of dermatomycosis were investigated using paper disc diffusion method. It was found that kalopanaxsaponins A and I were effective in inhibiting the growth of Candida albicans KCTC 1940 and Cryptococcus neoformans KCTC 7224 with minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) of 25${\mu}g$/ml. It showed that antifungal activity of both compounds have strong selectivity against the fungi of dermatomycosis.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.46-49
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• 2000

Two neolignan compound, magnolol $(5,5^{l}-diallyl-2,2^{l}-dihydroxybiphenyl, 1)$ and honokiol $(5,5^{l}-diallyl-2,4^{l}-dihydroxybiphenyl, 2)$ were isolated from the stem bark of Magnolia obovata and evaluated for antifungal activity against various human pathogenic fungi. Compound 1 and 2 showed significant inhibitory activities against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporium gypseum, Epidermophyton floccosum, Aspergillus niger, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida albicans with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) in a range of $25-100{\mu}g/ml$. Therefore, compound 1 and 2 could be used as lead compounds for the development of novel antifungal agents.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.221-227
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• 1999

The fungistatic and fungicidal activities of amphotericin B, fluconazole, miconazole, econazole, and 5-fluorocytosine against Saccharomyces cerevisiae were estimated in the presence of 1/2 minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and 1/2 minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of polygodial, respectively. Among them, the antifungal activities of miconazoles by polygodial was still shown against several yeast-like fungi including Candida albicans, Candida utilis, Cryptococcus neoformans, except for Candida krusei. The combination of polygodial with imidazole drugs against Saccharomyces cerevisiae was further examined using the macrobroth dilution checkerboard method. The fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) and the fractional fungicidal concentration (FFC) index between polygodial and miconazole were 0.16 and 0.19, while the combination of polygodial with econazole exhibited the FIC index of 0.19 and the FFC of 0.25, respectively. These results suggest that polygodial and the imidazoles on the fungistatic and fungicidal action are highly synergistic.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.170-173
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• 2018

A spayed female domestic short-hair cat of unknown age was admitted with a large proliferative mass in the face. Cytology and biopsy results suggested infection with Cryptococcus spp. A latex cryptococcal antigen agglutination test and an ALPHA cryptococcal antigen enzyme immunoassay yielded positive results. Results of canavanine-glycine-bromothymol blue agar test, serotyping and molecular typing by URA5 - RFLP and MLST analysis identified the isolates as C. neoformans var. grubii VNI/ST31. Two other cats were also diagnosed with the same methodology showing Crytococcosis with VNI/ST31. Cats presenting with facial or respiratory signs should be assessed for cryptococcosis in Korea.