Cryptococcosis is a major fungal disease caused by members of the Cryptococcus gattii and Cryptococcus neoformans species complexes. After more than 15 years of molecular genetic and phenotypic studies and much debate, a proposal for a taxonomic revision was made.

Vaginal candidiasis is an extremely common disease predominantly caused by four phylogenetically diverse species: Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis.Using a time course infection model of vaginal epithelial cells and dual RNA-Sequencing, we show that these species exhibit distinct pathogenicity patterns, defined by highly species-specific transcriptional profiles during infection of vaginal epithelial cells. In contrast, host cells exhibit a homogeneous response to all species at early stages of infections, which is characterized by sublethal mitochondrial signalling inducing a protective type I interferon response. At later stages, the transcriptional response of the host diverges in a species-dependent manner. This divergence is primarily driven by the extent of epithelial damage elicited by species-specific mechanisms such as secretion of the toxin candidalysin by C. albicans. Our results uncover a dynamic, biphasic response of vaginal epithelial cells to Candida species, characterized by protective mitochondriaassociated type I interferon signalling and a species-specific damage-driven response.

Despite the increasing of onychomycosis caused by Candida spp., in referent literature, there is still data insufficiency about this nail infection. The objectives of this retrospective study were to determine epidemiological characteristics of Candida onychomycosis, the antifungal susceptibility of isolated species in vitro, and to compare the results of antifungal susceptibility testing with conducted treatment in period from 2011 to the end of March 2015. Out of 761 patients who were underwent clinical and mycological examinations, 137 had Candida species isolated from nails. The dominant species was Candida albicans (C. albicans) (36.59%) followed by C. parapsilosis (23.78%), C. krusei (9.76%), and C. guilliermondii (6.71%). Antifungal susceptibility in vitro testing showed good susceptibility to antimycotics, except C. krusei, which was resistance to fluconazole (FCZ) and isolates of C. tropicalis and C. glabrata which were dose dependent to itraconazole (ITZ) and fluconazole. Evaluation of medical histories determined that combined therapy, which included pulsed systemic regimen of ITZ with topical application of clotrimazole, had better clinical outcomes regarding the proscribed only topical application of clotrimazole. Multidisciplinary approach of dermatologists and mycologists is required in solving the problem of onychomycosis, which is the dominant nail disease.

Malassezia yeast belongs to the normal cutaneous flora and under certain conditions it causes seborrhoeic dermatitis (SD). There is no culture-based study about the presence and density of the Malassezia in SD patients in Serbia. Aim was to show the presence, species distribution and density of Malassezia in patients with SD on lesional skin (LS) and non-lesional skin (NLS) and healthy controls (HC) and to compare data between Serbia and other countries. The study included 70 HC and 60 patients with SD in the study group (SG). Isolation, identification and examination of density of Malassezia colony-forming units from LS and NLS were performed. Malassezia was found more frequently in the SG than in HC, 90% and 60%, respectively (P < 0.01). The most frequent isolates in SG on LS were M. slooffiae (26%), followed by M. globosa (17%) and M. sympodialis (17%). The yeast density was much higher on LS of SG than on NLS of SG or in the HC group (P < 0.05). Higher density of Malassezia was shown on LS of SG than on NLS of SG and HC. M. slooffiae is the most prevalent species in SD patients in Serbia. This study demonstrated a positive relationship between severity of SD and presence of Malassezia spp.

No abstract