title: Supplemental utility of nested PCR for the pathological diagnosis of disseminated trichosporonosis.
abstract: Disseminated trichosporonosis is known to be a severe opportunistic mycosis and has a high mortality rate. In autopsy cases, it is often difficult to diagnose as trichosporonosis because the causative Trichosporon species are pathologically similar to other fungi, especially the Candida species. Immunohistochemical analysis is essential for the differential diagnosis, but an antibody to Trichosporon is not available commercially. In the present study, we investigated the supplemental utility of nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the pathological diagnosis of trichosporonosis from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues. Total DNA was purified from 30 major organs in three autopsy cases, and Trichosporon DNA was specifically amplified by nested PCR using three sets of primers. Of 22 organs in which Grocott's stain was positive for fungal infection, 170- and 259-bp PCR products were detected in 20 (91%) and 12 (55%) organs, respectively. In short-term fixation (about 1 day), these bands were highly detected in ten (100%) and nine (90%) organs, whereas the detection efficiency tended to decrease after long-term fixation and decalcification. No PCR product of 412 bp was detected in any organs. These findings suggest that nested PCR from short-term-fixed tissues is useful for supportive pathological diagnosis of disseminated trichosporonosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi-Kamimachi, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan. msano@med.nihon-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugitani
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishige
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Homma
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Keishin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sunagawa
authors.forename: Yukari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Obana
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.forename: Kazunari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumasaka
authors.forename: Kumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uenogawa
authors.forename: Sumiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hatta
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Norimichi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nemoto
mesh_terms: D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009181:Mycoses / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D014250:Trichosporon / Q000235:genetics*