Disseminated protothecosis caused by Prototheca zopfii in a liver transplant recipient

Rao, Polati Vishnu; Sethuraman, Nandini; Ramanathan, Yamunadevi; Gopalakrishnan, Ram

doi:10.4103/jgid.jgid_55_17

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The overall mortality rate of P. zopfii in this series was 64% (9/14), compared with the reported mortality rates of 50%–75% for disseminated P. wickerhamii . 1,2,13…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The overall mortality rate of P. zopfii in this series was 64% (9/14), compared with the reported mortality rates of 50%-75% for disseminated P. wickerhamii. 1,2,13 The range of 50%-75% in the mortality rate of P. wickerhamii is attributed to inconsistency in the definition of disseminated Prototheca infections in the literature. In an article written by Todd et al, 2 they define disseminated infection as involving at least 2 different organs, whereas others who examined the same case reports consider any infection other than a localized cutaneous or olecranon bursitis as disseminated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disseminated Protothecosis Due to Prototheca zopfii and Literature Review

Chen

Saab‐Chalhoub

Tao³

et al. 2023

The American Journal of Dermatopathology

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:Prototheca species are achlorophyllic algae that are a rare cause of infection in humans. It most commonly causes localized cutaneous disease and rarely disseminated infection. Immunocompromised patients have the highest risk of disseminated protothecosis, with a higher mortality rate than localized cutaneous infections. At the species level, infections caused by Prototheca zopfii are reported less frequently than those caused by Prototheca wickerhamii. The diagnosis can be made using histopathology, culture, and molecular testing. There is no definitive evidence for an effective treatment, which currently consists of antifungals (primarily amphotericin B). With only a handful of cases of disseminated protothecosis reported worldwide that are caused by P. zopfii, we herein present an additional case of a postbone marrow transplant patient in the Midwest of the United States.

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“…The overall mortality rate of P. zopfii in this series was 64% (9/14), compared with the reported mortality rates of 50%–75% for disseminated P. wickerhamii . 1,2,13…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disseminated Protothecosis Due to Prototheca zopfii and Literature Review

Chen

Saab‐Chalhoub

Tao³

et al. 2023

The American Journal of Dermatopathology

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“…Protothecosis is a rare algal infection with varying clinical presentations in humans and nonhuman vertebrates ( 24 ). In 2017, Todd et al reported that only 211 cases of human protothecosis had been published worldwide up to April 2017 ( 25 ), although these numbers appear to be rising ( 26 , 27 ). Of more significance is Prototheca -associated bovine mastitis, a subtype of mammary gland inflammation with drastic impact on the dairy industry worldwide ( 6 , 28 , 29 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species- and strain-specific differences in the phagocytosis of Prototheca : insights from live-cell imaging

Haider,

Shave,

Onyishi

et al. 2023

Infect Immun

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The genus Prototheca is an extremely unusual group of achlorophyllic, obligately heterotrophic algae. Six species have been identified as pathogens of vertebrates, including cattle and humans. In cattle, P. bovis is the main infectious pathogen and is associated with bovine mastitis. In contrast, human infections typically involve P. wickerhamii and are associated with a spectrum of varying clinical presentations. Prototheca spp. enter the host from the environment and are therefore likely to be initially recognized by cells of the innate immune system. However, little is known about the nature of the interaction between Prototheca spp. and host phagocytes. In the present study, we adopt a live-cell imaging approach to investigate these interactions over time. Using environmental and clinical strains, we show that P. bovis cells are readily internalized and processed by macrophages, whereas these immune cells struggle to internalize P. wickerhamii . Serum opsonization of P. wickerhamii only marginally improves phagocytosis, suggesting that this species (but not P. bovis ) may have evolved mechanisms to evade phagocytosis. Furthermore, we show that inhibition of the kinases Syk or PI3K, which are both critical for innate immune signaling, drastically reduces the uptake of P. bovis . Finally, we show that genetic ablation of MyD88, a signaling adaptor critical for Toll-like receptor signaling, has little impact on uptake but significantly prolongs phagosome maturation once P. bovis is internalized. Together, our data suggest that these two pathogenic Prototheca spp. have very different host-pathogen interactions which have potential therapeutic implications for the treatment of human and animal disease.

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“…Protothecosis is a rare disease associated with Prototheca, a genus of unicellular algae that is ubiquitous in nature and most prevalent in humid climates and aqueous environments. 1 Prototheca wickerhamii is the Prototheca variant most commonly associated with human disease. The organism is typically introduced into the skin via trauma in contaminated water, with the trauma characteristically not recognized or remembered by the patient.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%