Toshio Kanbe — Page 2 | PubMed Health

PubMed2002

Effects of topical vehicles on growth of the lipophilic Malassezia species.

In the present study, the abilities of major Malassezia species, M. sympodialis, M. globosa and M. furfur, to assimilate topical agents, which have been widely used as a material of ointment for skin diseases, were tested. Obvious growth of M. furfur on GYEP agar plate was noted in the presence of white petrolatum, purified white petrolatum, hydrophilic ointment and heparinoid in hydrophilic ointment, and also M. sympodialis showed similar growth when they were cultured with hydrophilic or heparinoid in hydrophilic ointment. In contrast, M. globosa did not grow on GYEP in the presence of the any topical agents tested. These results suggest that Malassezia species, especially M. furfur and M. sympodialis, assimilate several topical agents and showed the drug-depended cell growth.

Administration, Topical↗

PubMed2002

Identification of the pathogenic Aspergillus species by nested PCR using a mixture of specific primers to DNA topoisomerase II gene.

For PCR-based identification of Aspergillus species, a common primer of the DNA topoisomerase II genes of Candida, Aspergillus and Penicillium, and species-specific primers of the genomic sequences of DNA topoisomerase II of A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. flavus (A. oryzae), A. nidulans and A. terreus were tested for their specificities in PCR amplifications. The method consisted of amplification of the genomic DNA topoisomerase II gene by a common primer set, followed by a second PCR with a primer mix consisting of 5 species-specific primer pairs for each Aspergillus species. By using the common primer pair, a DNA fragment of approximately 1,200 bp was amplified from the Aspergillus and Penicillium genomic DNAs. Using each species-specific primer pair, unique sizes of PCR products were amplified, all of which corresponded to a species of Aspergillus even in the presence of DNAs of several fungal species. The sensitivity of A. fumigatus to the nested PCR was found to be 100 fg of DNA in the reaction mixture. In the nested PCR obtained by using the primer mix (PsIV), the specific DNA fragment of A. fumigatus was amplified from clinical specimens. These results suggest that this nested PCR method is rapid, simple and available as a tool for identification of pathogenic Aspergillus to a species level.

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