An ultrastructural study of Trichophyton rubrum induced onychomycosis

BMC Infectious Diseases

Research Article

Hongwei Wang¹  Qing Li¹  Xueping Yue¹  Aiping Wang²  Cuiping Zhang³  Yilin Sun³  Qi Zhang³ 

[1] Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100050, Beijing, P. R. China;Department of Dermatology, Peking University First Hospital, Peking University, 100034, Beijing, P. R. China;Department of Ultrastructural Pathology, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, 100050, Beijing, P. R. China;

关键词: Onychomycosis;    Trichophyton rubrum;    Scanning electron microscopy;    Transmission electron microscopy;    Ultrastructure;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12879-015-1240-1

 received in 2015-06-22, accepted in 2015-10-21,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTrichophyton rubrum (T.rubrum) caused onychomycosis is the most common nail fungal disease. The common diagnostic methods are direct microscopic examination and fungal culture. In this study we used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study the subungual ultrastructural changes in T. rubrum induced onychomycosis.MethodsSix outpatients with onychomycosis were recruited and T.rubrum infection was confirmed by fungal culture. Six toenail samples were collected and prepared for SEM characterization. The cultured fugal colonies were prepared for SEM and TEM characterization.Results1) SEM showed significant structural damages and the formation of a thin layer or a single layer of keratinocytes in all infected nail plates. Hyphae (piercing or penetrating keratinocytes layers), arthrospores and local bacterial aggregation were observed on the ventral surface of the nail plates. 2) SEM of the cultured fungal colony showed relatively straight, highly branched hyphae and microconidias; TEM showed branching hyphae that were composed of double-layer cell walls. Hyphae had nucleus, mitochondria, liposomes, lysosomes, scattered rough endoplasmic reticulum, myeloid bodies and aggregated ribosomes. There were high-density particles outside the hyphae.ConclusionSEM showed a large number of hyphae penetrated the keratinocytes layer, suggesting that T. rubrum can cause severe damage to the stratum corneum. TEM showed the ultrastructural features of T. rubrum-induced infection before treatment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Yue et al. 2015