Characteristic morphological and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated the presence of Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus lentulus as the aetiological agents in a case of probable invasive aspergillosis (IA). This is believed to be the first report of an A. lentulus strain isolated from a patient with probable IA in Argentina.

Micromorphology on Staib agar was the phenotypic method that was most concordant with PCR and it was useful for selecting presumptive C. dubliniensis. This is the first report to use PCR to identify C. dubliniensis in subgingival fluid from immunocompetent individuals with periodontal disease in Argentina. On the basis of the findings presented here, we confirm that C. dubliniensis can colonize periodontal pockets of immunocompetent patients with periodontal disease.

The multiplex PCR developed from a suspension of the yeast fungi correctly identified fifty-one clinical of H. capsulatum var. capsulatum strains isolated from clinical samples and soil specimens. The multiplex PCR was developed by combining two pairs of primers, one of them was specific to the H. capsulatum and the other one, universal for fungi, turned out to be specific to H. capsulatum, regardless of the fungus isolate studied. Primers designed to amplify a region of about 390-bp (Hc I-Hc II) and a region of approximately 600-bp (ITS1-ITS4) were used to identify a yeast isolated as H. capsulatum when both regions could be amplified. Absolute agreement (100 % sensitivity) could be shown between this assay and the cultures of H. capsulatum according to their morphological characteristics. Failure to amplify the target DNA sequence by PCR with primers Hc I-Hc II in the presence of the ITS1-ITS4 amplicon in isolates of P. brasiliensis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Trichosporon spp, Candida glabrata, C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, or Penicillium marneffei was an unequivocal sign of the high specificity of this assay. The assay specificity was also found to be 100 %. Incipient yeast forms obtained from clinical samples were identified as H. capsulatum by the PCR assay described before the morphological characteristics were registered shortening the time of diagnosis.

Candida albicans is involved in periodontal disease, which is influenced by sex hormones. Aim: To study the effects of the estrogen antagonist tamoxifen (TAM) on periodontal disease of oncological patients; clinical oral strains of C. albicans. Patients: With periodontitis and breast cancer and other with AIDS were used. Materials & methods: Periodontal disease was evaluated by the academy of periodontology procedures and the growth of clinical C. albicans isolates were evaluated by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute techniques. Results: Women who consumed TAM for more than 2 years decreased periodontitis severity. In vitro, TAM inhibited the growth of both fluconazole-sensitive and resistant C. albicans. Conclusion: Administered TAM chronically improves periodontal health and has antifungal activity on oral strains isolated from patients with odontologic and medical pathologies.

BackgroundIt is recognized that Candida dubliniensis commonly colonizes oral and subgingival sites in immunocompetent subjects with periodontal disease.ObjectiveSince there are few data available on genetic characterization of C. dubliniensis in periodontal pockets and other oral sites, the aim of this study was to characterize subgingival and mucosal C. dubliniensis isolates recovered from immunocompetent subjects and to assay the genetic similarity of such isolates from both niches in the same patient by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD).Design C. dubliniensis recovered from subgingival plaque and from buccal cavity samples were studied in 240 immunocompetent non-smoking individuals. Arbitrary amplification was carried out by RAPD-polymerase chain reaction (PCR).ResultsRAPD analysis showed identical genotypes of C. dubliniensis in different sampling sites (buccal cavity and subgingival areas) in eight of 10 patients except for those derived from two participants who presented presumably unrelated isolates.ConclusionsOn the basis of the findings presented, the origin of the colonization of C. dubliniensis in subgingival biofilm seems to be the buccal cavity in a single patient. Consequently, it may be assumed that most of C. dubliniensis in these sites arise from the endogenous commensal strains.

Ten IMP-8-producing isolates were recovered from surveillance cultures of a neonatal intensive care unit; eight of the isolates were clonally related. A 168.2-kb plasmid was fully sequenced, and it corresponded to the recently described IncA/C1-ST13 plasmid. This plasmid was detected in all isolates, even in those that were not clonally related. One unrelated isolate was also resistant to colistin and positive for This marker was located in a 62.7-kb IncI2 plasmid, which was also fully sequenced.

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