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Chlamydospores of Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis in Tissue of Pulmonary Mucormycosis

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Abstract

Hyphae are usually the only fungal elements found in tissue of mucormycosis, and other fungal elements are quite rarely encountered. We found chlamydospores in bronchial lumina in autopsied tissue of pulmonary mucormycosis of a diabetic patient. Chlamydospores are thick-walled, asexually produced spores arising from the modification of a hyphal segment. This is the first histologic demonstration of chlamydospores in mucormycosis in which the causative fungus is culturally identified to species level. Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis was isolated from the present autopsied pulmonary tissue. A literature review of human infection by this fungus found 27 cases with histopathologic evidence.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of Mr. Yoshitaka Horiuchi, Life Science Research Institute, Kinki University, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka, Japan, in performing scanning electron microscopy of the cultured fungus and Prof. Michiaki Masuda, Department of Microbiology, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine for his genetic analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Kinki University, 377-2 Ohno-Higashi, Osaka-Sayama, 589-8511, Japan

    Masatomo Kimura, Eisuke Enoki, Takaaki Chikugo & Osamu Maenishi

  2. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University, Mibu, Tochigi, 321-0293, Japan

    Kazuko Nishimura

  3. First Laboratories Co., Ltd., 1313 Kamihirama, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 211-0013, Japan

    Kazuko Nishimura

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  1. Masatomo Kimura
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  2. Kazuko Nishimura
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Correspondence to Masatomo Kimura.

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Kimura, M., Nishimura, K., Enoki, E. et al. Chlamydospores of Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis in Tissue of Pulmonary Mucormycosis. Mycopathologia 174, 441–450 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-012-9560-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-012-9560-9

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