title: Molecular characterization and antifungal susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans strains collected from a single institution in Lima, Peru.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cryptococcosis is a fungal infection with a worldwide distribution, mainly caused by Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To molecularly characterize the mating-types, serotypes, genotypes and antifungal susceptibility profiles of a set of retrospectively isolated C. neoformans strains from Lima, Peru.
  
  
  METHODS
  A set of 32 Cryptococcus spp. strains from the Institute of Tropical Medicine of the National University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru, were included in this retrospective study. Twenty-four strains were isolated from patients, while the remaining 8 were isolated from the environment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using conventional PCR, 27 (84.4%) of the isolates were identified as C. neoformans var. grubii mating-type alpha and serotype A. Using the AFLP fingerprinting, it was shown that 16 (50%) of the C. neoformans strains were genotype AFLP1, 13 (40.6%) were genotype AFLP1B, 2 (6.3%) were genotype AFLP2, and 1 (3.1%) was found to be a hybrid between both C. neoformans varieties (genotype AFLP3). The antifungal susceptibility profiles for amphotericin B, fluconazole and voriconazole showed that all the 32 C. neoformans are sensitive to these antifungal compounds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study we observed that C. neoformans var. grubii (AFLP1 and AFLP1B) and C. neoformans var. neoformans (AFLP2) were the only cryptococcal varieties involved. All strains were found to be sensitive to the antifungals tested, results that are consistent with those found in the international literature.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Daniel Alcides Carrión", Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Vilma
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bejar
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, UNMSM, Lima, Peru. Electronic address: mechetr@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tello
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, UNMSM, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: García
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Daniel Alcides Carrión", Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Guevara
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Daniel Alcides Carrión", Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Daniel Alcides Carrión", Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: German
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vergaray
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Daniel Alcides Carrión", Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Daniel Alcides Carrión", Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Enma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Abanto
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Alex G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ortega-Loayza
authors.affiliation: CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ferry
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hagen
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Análisis y Generación de Evidencia en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Lima, Peru; Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Ericson L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
mesh_terms: D000047:Academies and Institutes; D054458:Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; D049770:Genes, Mating Type, Fungal; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012703:Serotyping; D014330:Tropical Medicine
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D004271:DNA, Fungal
keywords: Cryptococcus neoformans; Genes del tipo sexual de los hongos; Genotipo; Genotype; Mating-type; Serotipificación; Serotyping