Trichophyton tonsurans and T. equinum are two closely related sister species of dermatophytes, but differ in their preferred hosts, i.e., humans or horses, respectively. Routine procedures for their identification depend on studies of their phenotypic, physiological and biochemical characteristics, which are laborious and may yield ambiguous results. Molecular methods using rDNA ITS also had been judged to be insufficiently discriminatory. In the present study two genetic markers were sequenced in addition to the ITS region, i.e., partial β-tubulin (BT2) and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1). The TEF1 locus revealed a consistent differences in a 13 bp indel and an additional SNP between the two species, along with a single base substitution in BT2 and one ITS1, enabling unambiguous distinction of the two taxa. RFLP targeting the ITS region was evaluated as a potential tool for routine screening of suspected isolates of T. tonsurans and T. equinum.

Microsporum ferrugineum, an uncommon causative agent of dermatophytosis, has restricted endemicity. Iranian strains suspected to be M. ferrugineum from two patients with tinea were analyzed using the rDNA ITS region and the partial beta-tubulin (BT2) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha(TEF1) genes. Strains compared to reference strains to differentiate M. ferrugineum from its relatives M. canis and M. audouinii. Inter-species differences for TEF1 and BT2 were found to be higher than for ITS, which is the current molecular standard of species identification in dermatophytes. Intra-species variations were zero for each of the markers. In silico analysis showed that restriction enzymes BanI and BshNI both were sufficient to differentiate the three species based on TEF1, whereas a two step digestion was needed with BT2 or ITS. The prevalence of M. ferrugineum in clinical samples in Iran appeared to be higher than suspected on the basis of routine phenotypic identification.

Chronic sinusitis is a major cause of morbidity today. Regional variations in the incidence of this disease have been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of fungal infection as the causative agent of chronic sinusitis among Iranian patients. A cross sectional hospital based study was designed; the patients underwent paranasal sinus washing and maxillary sinus biopsy. All specimens were studied by light microscopy. Fungal culturing was employed to confirm diagnosis. The patients underwent Computed Tomography for sinus evaluation. Of 162 participants, 12 samples from patients showed fungal elements, 2 of them Aspergillus fulvous (1.2%), 9 of them Alternaria species (5.56%) and 1 of them Psilomysis (0.6%). All patients presented radiologic evidence of sinusitis, ranging from mucosal thickening to total opacity. In conclusion, results obtained showed a low prevalence of fungal sinusitis among Iranian patients with chronic sinusitis. Findings also showed that Alternaria is the most causative agent.

The methanolic extract and total alkaloids of the aerial parts of Glaucium oxylobum exhibited good activity against Microsporum gypseum, Microsporum canis, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Epidermophyton floccosum. Four alkaloids, dicentrine, glaucine, protopine, and alpha-allocryptopine, were identified as the compounds responsible for the antifungal activity of this plant.

The present study was undertaken to determine the therapeutic effect of the culture filtrate of Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii (CneF) in experimental immune complex glomerulonephritis. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) nephritis was induced in rats by a subcutaneous immunization and daily intravenous administration of BSA. CneF solution at three different doses (36, 54, and 90 mg/kg based on carbohydrate concentration) was administered intraperitoneally at regular 72-h intervals for 4 weeks. Onset of treatment was day 65, and urinary protein was measured at different intervals. Animals were euthanized on day 107. Serum and urine determinants were measured at the time of sacrifice and kidney specimens were examined. Results of this experiment showed that CneF therapy could significantly reduce the urinary protein excretion, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), plasma concentration of triglyceride, and increase the serum HDL cholesterol in treated rats vs. nontreated controls. Moreover, there was significant difference in glomerular changes between treated and nontreated groups. These observations show that the beneficial effect of CneF may be related to decreased number of glomerular leukocytes. Our findings suggest that treatment with CneF as a new antiinflammatory compound can reduce proteinuria, suppress the development of glomerular lesions, and exert lipid-lowering property in a rat model of immune complex glomerulonephritis.

The possible presence of Hendersonula toruloidea in the environment and its role as a human pathogen in Iran was studied. Samples were collected both from trees likely to be infected and from patients who presented with suspected fungal infections of the hands and feet. The samples were mainly collected in areas of southern Iran where the climate is similar to that of areas where H. toruloidea has been found previously to infect humans. H. toruloidea type B was isolated from plant samples (eucalyptus trees) for the first time in Iran but it could not be isolated as a human pathogen.