eukaryotes 3

what does it mean for fungi to be the masters if change

funcgi can rapidly adapt to new environments

fungi adaption is often accompained by

phenotypic or morphological switch

can fungi make their owns food

no they can not make their own foods so the must rely on nutrients from their environment (host) 

what is a normal part of the human microbiome 

fungi 

what can fungi that is normal in the human biome do to immune compromised individuals 

the fungi can lead to serious infections in immune compromised individual 

what are fungi cell walls made up of 

chitin or cellulose 

what type of bacterial is fungi

eukaryotic

since fungi is eukaryotic what does fungi contain

has nucleus and membrane bound organelles

what do fungi cell membrane use

ergosterol

what is ergosterol function

it increases the fluidity of the cell membrane

what are the primary target of many antifungal drugs

cell membrane and cell wall

how does fungi aquire nutrients

heterotrophs

• aquire nutrients from their environment 

how many species of fungi are there worldwide

over 100000 species worldwide

what are most fungal pathogens

opportunists

what does it mean for a pathogen to be opportunist

they only infect sick individuals

what are the two basic forms of fungi

yeast

filamentous yeast/ mold 

hyphae

long threadlike cells that make up bodies of filamentous yeast/ molds

what type of cellular organism is yeast

unicellular organisms

what shape is yeast organisms

circular or oval shaped

how does yeast reproduce

reproduced by budding are cell fission

can yeast become hyphal (mold)

yes some yeast that form fungi  can

when can some yeast that form fungi because hyphal

when they get environmenntal cues

• that is when the morphological switch occurs 

what is the morphological switch often associated with

pathogenesis

hyphae fungi cellular structure

multicellular

what is hyphae comprised of

hyphal mats (mycelium )

what can hyphal mats/ mycelium be used for

nutrient acquisition or reporduction

what type of reproduction is hyphae

sexual or asexual

how does majority of fungi enter the human body

through the airway 

pathogensis

how disease develops and progresses in the organism

how do fungal infections start

entry into the host

how can a host acquire fungi

• inhalation/ contact of yeast from fungi

• inhalation of spores 

what can some fungi porduce

exotoxins

what is the host response to fungal infection

there is a strong antibody response due to almost constant exposure

what is very important to the host response for fungal infection

cellmediated immunity

what is bad about fungal infection treatment wise

there are little to no vaccinations available

what is superficial mycosis primarily

a cosmetic issue

what does superficial mycosis mean

there is no cellular immunity with little pathology

• shows minimal signs of disease and little immune response 

what do superficial mycosis generally respond well to 

topical anti fungal drug treatment 

examples of superficial mycosis

tineas (ringworm) and thrush (oral fungal infections)

what does cutaneous mycosis invade

only the superficial layers of the skin, scalp, and nails

examples of cutaneous mycosis

tineas (ringworm, altheletes foot)

cutaneous mycosis treatment

treat with topical anti-fungal

• sometimes with an oral anti fungal boost 

subcutaneous mycoses

infection of dermis and subcutaneous tissue

what does subcutaneous mycoses commonly result from

breaks in the skin

what type of fungi is subcutaneous mycoses commonly acquired from

soil dwelling fungi

what type of treatment is needed for subcutaneous mycoses

a very strong anti- fungals

what are we trying to prevent when treating subcutaneous mycoses

systemic infections

what is deep mycosis

they are generally infections that occur through inhalation of spores

what type of pathogens are in deep mycosis

there are many opportunistic and primary pathogens

what does deep mycosis lead to 

serious, life threatening infections 

what does deep mycosis infect

multiple organ systems

where does deep mycosis infections generally start in

the respiratory system and then enter into the blood

where else can deep mycosis infection start

in the GI tract and then spread from there

what are primary fungal pathogens

pathogens that can infect health individuals

what are some primary fungal pathogens examples

Histoplasmosis

Blastomycosis

Coccidioidomycosis

where are histoplasmosis found

in many parts of the world

what does histoplasmosis primarily infect

the lungs

what else can histoplasmosis infect

the liver, heart and CNS

what disease does histoplasmosis resemble

tuberculosis

what is histoplasmosis

a dimorphic fungus

for dimorphic funguses where does mold grow

in the soil on bird and bat feces 

in dimorphic funguses what do the mold spores convert to

yeast

in dimorphic fungus where does the conversion/ morphing of mold to yeast happen

in the host

where is blastomycosis usually found

primarily in the southeastern USA

in blastomycosis what are spores inhaled from

soil, woods, and animals droppings

what is blastomycosis infection localized to

pulmonary tract or skin

what can blastomycosis become

disseminated

• spread widely throughout host from orginal point 

what do blastomycosis symptoms resemble

tuberculosis

what is Coccidioidomycosis also called

valley fever

where is Coccidioidomycosis found in

western and southwestern USA

what type of disease is Coccidioidomycosis usally

a self limited respiratory disease

what does self limited mean

usally doesnt require treatment

what does Coccidioidomycosis form

endospores within the host

what can Coccidioidomycosis lead to

meningitis

can Coccidioidomycosis be fatal

yes because it can lead to meningitis

what type of fungus is Cryptococcus neoformans 

a filamentous fungus 

what does Cryptococcus neoformans form

spores 

how does infection of Cryptococcus neoformans occur 

from inhalation of spores 

what does Cryptococcus neoformans diease cause to primarily 

immunocompromised patients

• HIV and cancer patients

what does Cryptococcus neoformans form during infection 

polysaccharide capsule 

symptoms of cryptococcal meningitis 

Headache, Nausea, Vomiting, Confusion, hallucinations, Lethargy

untreated outcomes of Cryptococcal Meningitis

coma, hearing loss, death 

treatment of Cryptococcal Meningitis

Amphoteracin B + flucytosine

how can fungi overcome barriers to infection

they can morph to become more invasive

sometimes barriers like temp changes can alter fungal physiology to become more pathogenic

what are some barriers to pathogenesis

envrionmental factos, temp, nutrients

what CANT fungi do

they can not regulate their internal temp

what happens with the fungi environment is too hot

the fungus cannot grow

what else other than temp can induce morphing or physiological change that alter fungi pathogenicity 

nutrients 

• some places have more or less nutrients or different nutrients 

what are three treatments for fungal infections 

azoles, polyene, echinocandins 

what does treatment azoles target

cell membrane (ergosterol)

what does treatment polyene target

cell membrane

• ergosterol

what does treatment echinocandins target

cell wall

what can fungistatic drugs lead to

fungi rapid adaption and the appearance of resistant isolates

• since static drugs dont kill fungi has time to morph and change their pathgenicy so they become resistant to the drug

what helps fungi aid in rapid adaptation 

dynamic genomes 

what type of bacterial is becoming an upcoming fungal threat

C auris

why is it bad c auris is becomeing a threat

because this is a species of fungus that did not affect us but now it starting to

how many patients with c auris die

1in 3 patients with systemic infection dies

what is c auris resistant to

multiple anti-fungal drug families

why is c auris espeically dangerous

because it is very hard to distinguish from other fungal species

• can only be done in a lab