Role of Cadherins in Cancer-A Review.

Cadherins play an important role in tissue homeostasis, as they are responsible for cell-cell adhesion during embryogenesis, tissue morphogenesis, differentiation and carcinogenesis. Cadherins are inseparably connected with catenins, forming cadherin-catenin complexes, which are crucial for cell-to-cell adherence. Any dysfunction or destabilization of cadherin-catenin complex may result in tumor progression. Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a mechanism in which epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) expression is lost during tumor progression. However, during tumorigenesis, many processes take place, and downregulation of E-cadherin, nuclear ß-catenin and p120 catenin (p120) signaling are among the most critical. Additional signaling pathways, such as Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK), Rho GTPases, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and Hippo affect cadherin cell-cell adhesion and also contribute to tumor progression and metastasis. Many signaling pathways may be activated during tumorigenesis; thus, cadherin-targeting drugs seem to limit the progression of malignant tumor. This review discusses the role of cadherins in selected signaling mechanisms involved in tumor growth. The clinical importance of cadherin will be discussed in cases of human and animal cancers.

Occurrence of various pathogenic and opportunistic fungi in skin diseases of domestic animals: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Fungal infection of animals or humans are common all over the world. Some of microorganisms like fungi, exist on the skin and can be transmitted onto other individuals, other animal species or even humans and cause skin infections. Moreover, they can be the causative agents of severe generalized infections especially in immunocompromised individuals. The study aimed to evaluate the most frequent etiological agents of skin diseases and to compare the prevalence of animal fungal infections in Poland, and to discuss the possibility of transmission to humans in Poland. RESULTS: The obtained results are culture based. The fungi most frequently isolated from group of animals with skin lesions were Malassezia pachydermatis (29.14%), and Candida yeasts (27.07%), and dermatophytes (23.5%), including Microsporum canis as majority of them (59.25%), and Trichophyton genus (40.7%), most of them T. mentagrophytes, while Malassezia pachydermatis represented (80%) of isolates in animals with otitis externa. In over 19% of positive fungal cultures obtained from external ear canals Candida yeasts, mainly C. albicans, were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Dermatomycoses in companion animals are caused by both, mycelial fungi and yeasts. Most frequently isolated were Malassezia pachydermatis and Candida spp. Dermatophytes (Trichophyton, Microsporum), were also cultured, but the total number of these isolates seems to decrease. We have not found Cryptococcus neoformans in tested clinical samples.

Mixed Infection of Respiratory Tract in a Dog Caused by Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Trichosporon jirovecii: A Case Report.

This report describes the isolation of two environmental fungi: Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Trichosporon jirovecii accompanied by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli from a dog with bronchotracheitis. All microorganisms were isolated routinely from a mucopurulent discharge, obtained during bronchoscopy from laryngotracheal area. The initial identification of yeasts was confirmed by API Candida and by molecular analysis of internal transcribed spacer region. Administered antimicrobial treatment with Marbofloxacin and Canizol has brought the improvement in the dogs' health status. The final results of control mycological culture were negative. Most probably underlying hypothyroidism and the use of steroids were the factors predisposing this patient to opportunistic infection of mixed aetiology. As far as we are concerned, this is the first case of dogs' respiratory tract infection caused by R. mucilaginosa and T. jirovecii.

Pine processionary caterpillar, Thaumetopoea pityocampa Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775 contact as a health risk for dogs.

Pine processionary, Thaumetopoea pityocampa Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775 is a moth that belongs to the order of insects Lepidoptera, and family Notodontidae. The larvae of pine processionary moth are the main pest of pines all over the world, but mainly in Mediterranean region. The contact with pine processionary caterpillar (lepidopterism) can produce a strong inflammatory reaction on skin and mucous membranes. Other findings include hyperthermia, tachypnoea, respiratory distress, cyanosis and tongue oedema, labial angioedema, ptyalism, bilateral submandibular lymphadenomegaly, conjunctivitis and severe tongue necrosis. Tough, few veterinary cases have been published. Also in Poland pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pinivora) is present, especially near the Baltic coast and can be a possible health risk for both humans and animals (especially dogs). The aim of this article is to increase knowledge about the clinical manifestations of pine processionary caterpillar contact, which may be useful for diagnosis of this dangerous disease.

PCR and real-time PCR assays to detect fungi of Alternaria alternata species.

Fungi of the Alternaria genus are mostly associated with allergic diseases. However, with a growing number of immunocompromised patients, these fungi, with A. alternata being the most prevalent one, are increasingly recognized as etiological agents of infections (phaeohyphomycoses) in humans. Nowadays, identification of Alternaria spp. requires their pure culture and is solely based on morphological criteria. Clinically, Alternaria infections may be indistinguishable from other fungal diseases. Therefore, a diagnostic result is often delayed or even not achieved at all. In this paper we present easy to perform and interpret PCR and real-time PCR assays enabling detection of A. alternata species. On the basis of alignment of ß-tubulin gene sequences, A. alternata-specific primers were designed. DNA from fungal isolates, extracted in a two-step procedure, were used in PCR and real-time PCR assays followed by electrophoresis or melting temperature analysis, respectively. The assays specificity was confirmed, since positive results were obtained for all A. alternata isolates, and no positive results were obtained neither for other molds, dermatophytes, yeast-like fungi, nor human DNA. The assays developed here enable fast and unambiguous identification of A. alternata pathogens.

Canine leishmaniosis - an emerging disease.

Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) is an invasive disease of dogs, caused by Leishmania spp. parasites transmitted by the bite of an infected phlebotomine sand fly. CanL is declared an important disease by World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Due to its zoonotic potential is of a great importance the prevention of this disease in non endemic areas. Canine leishmaniosis is endemic disease in more than 70 countries and is a common disease in Mediterranean region. Recently, many cases have been reported in non endemic areas, like United Kingdom, Germany and Poland as well, where this disease is considered exotic. The aim of this article is to summarize shortly canine leishmaniosis, it's transmission, clinical manifestations, diagnostics procedure, treatment, prognosis and prevention. Increasing knowledge about this disease can be of a great use for veterinary surgeons from countries where CanL is an emerging disease. Multiple clinical presentations of CanL should aware clinicians to include leishmaniosis in the differential diagnosis of most clinical cases. Unfortunately, even if dogs recover clinically after treatment, complete elimination of Leishmania spp. is rarely achieved, and they remain infected and may relapse.

Fungal colonization - an additional risk factor for diseased dogs and cats?

The aim of the presented mini-review is to review the literature data referring to opportunistic mycoses in pet dogs and cats suffering from other concurrent diseases, comparable to human medical disorders with high risk of secondary mycoses. This review also presents the preliminary results of a project aimed at understanding the fungal colonization and occurrence of secondary mycoses in pets suffering from metabolic disorders, neoplasms and viral infections. The incidence of opportunistic mycoses is higher in such individuals, mostly because of their impaired immunity. The main risk factors are primary and secondary types of immunodeficiency connected with anti-cancer treatment or neoplastic disease itself. Moreover, literature data and the results of our investigations show that Candida yeasts are prevalent among diabetic animals and indicate that these fungi are the main etiological agents of secondary infections of the oral cavity, GI and urogenital tracts. Other important conditions possibly favoring the development of mycoses are concurrent infections of cats with FeLV and FIV viruses. Thus, in all cases of the mentioned underlying diseases, animals should be carefully monitored by repeated mycological examination, together with inspection of other parameters. Also, the prophylaxis of opportunistic mycoses should be carefully considered alike other factors influencing the prognosis and the outcome of primary diseases.

The application of MALDI-TOF MS for dermatophyte identification.

Dermatophytes are keratinolytic fungi responsible for a wide variety of diseases of the skin, nails and hair of mammals. Their identification is often complicated, labor-intensive and time consuming due to the high degree of intra-species morphological similarity, and also requires scientific knowledge and practice. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that MALDI-TOF MS technique may be a faster and more sophisticated method useful for the identification of dermatophytes and mycoses in general.

Cordyceps fungi as natural killers, new hopes for medicine and biological control factors.

The Cordyceps genus includes many species of fungi, most of which are endoparasitoids on arthropods.The distribution of these fungi is cosmopolitan, but many occur in regions such as Asia with a hot, humid climate. These pathogens of insect pests are promising candidates for use as biological control factors. Entomopathogenic fungi including the famous Cordyceps sinensis produce bioactive compounds. Lately Cordyceps sinensis was renamed Ophiocordyceps sinensis. This fungus has a long history as a medicinal fungus. It germinates in a living host, kills and mummifies the larva, and then grows from the body of the host. Is known in Tibet as the "winter worm, summer grass",or "Caterpillar fungus" (Yartsa gunbu). Collecting Ophiocordyceps has become an important source of money for local households in Nepal. Ophiocordyceps sinensis is cultivated as an anamorph for its medicinal and pharmaceutical properties in an artificial medium on an industrial scale. Ophiocordyceps compounds have immunostimulating properties and antitumor activity.

The use of a one-step PCR method for the identification of Microsporum canis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes infection of pets.

INTRODUCTION: Dermatophytes are a closely related group of keratinophilic fungi. They encompass important etiological agents of superficial fungal infections. These fungi are able to invade keratinized tissues of humans and animals, causing dermatophytosis (ringworm) of hair, nails or skin. THE AIM: Traditional diagnostics of ringworm is based on morphological identification of cultured fungi and is time-consuming. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we applied a method patented by Brillowska-Dabrowska and coworkers (Brillowska-Dabrowska A, Saunte DM, Arenderup MC, 2007, Five-hour diagnosis of dermatophyte nail infections with specific detection of Trichophyton rubrum. J Clin Microbiol 45: 1200-1204) which involves extraction of fungal DNA and PCR amplification with pan-dermatophyte primers to confirm the presence of dermatophytes. RESULTS: The method used here is able to confirm the presence of dermatophyte DNA in pure cultures in less than 5 hours.

High prevalence of Candida yeast in milk samples from cows suffering from mastitis in poland.

Mastitis is an economically important disease in which fungi belonging to the genus Candida may participate as etiological agents. This study focused on determining the frequency of fungal isolation and differentiation of fungal species isolated from milk of mastitic cows. Sixty-six milk samples from mastitic cows were studied, and 55 strains of fungi were isolated. Seven different species classified as Candida were identified basing on phenotypic properties, and the dominating species was C. parapsilosis. Genomic DNA was isolated and amplified in PCR with ITS1 and NL2 primers. Amplification products were digested with restriction enzymes HpaII and EcoRI. Amplification of DNA with ITS1 and NL2 primers resulted in products of different sizes. Comparison of product sizes in restriction fragment PCR REA confirmed differences among species. Strains grouped together on the basis of phenotype characteristics differed in restriction fragment profiles. None of the investigated species showed similar genetic profiles.

[Animals as a potential source of human fungal infections]. / Zwierzeta jako potencjalne zródlo zakazen grzybiczych u ludzi.

Changing environment is a reason, that many saprotrophic fungi became opportunists and in the end also maybe a pathogenic. Host specific adaptation is not so strong among fungi, so there are many common fungal pathogens for people and for animals. Animals suffering from dermatomycosis are well recognize as source of human superficial mycoses. Breeding of different exotic animals such as parrots, various Reptiles and Amphibians, miniature Rodents and keeping them as a pets in the peoples houses, have become more and more popular in the recent years. This article is shortly presenting which animals maybe a potential source of fungal infections for humans. Looking for the other mycoses as systemic mycoses, especially candidiasis or aspergilosis there are no data, which allow excluding sick animals as a source of infection for human, even if those deep mycoses have endogenic reactivation mechanism. Immunocompromised people are in high-risk group when they take care of animals. Another important source of potentially pathogenic, mostly air-born fungi may be animal use in experimental laboratory work. During the experiments is possible that laboratory workers maybe hurt and these animals and their environment, food and house boxes could be the possible source of microorganisms, pathogenic for humans or other animals. Unusual way to inoculate these potentially pathogens into the skin of laboratory personnel may cause granulomatous, local lesions on their hands.

[RAPD differentiation of yeast like fungi Malassezia pachydermatis]. / Róznicowanie izolatów Malassezia pachydermatis metoda RAPD.

UNLABELLED: The aim of the work was analyzing of genomic DNA of Malassezia pachydermatis isolates from clinical cases otitis externa from dogs using RAPD method with arbitrary primers Eric 1R, Eric2, BG2 and FM1. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 47 strains of M. pachydermatis isolates from clinical cases otitis externa from dogs were tested. Isolation of genomic DNA was provided according with MasterPureTM Yeast DNA Purification Kit EPICENTRE procedure. The quality of isolated genomic DNA was determined electrophoreticaly. For differentiation the following primers were used: Eric1R, Eric2, BG2 and FM1. Primers Eric 1R and Eric 2 were used together in one reaction or amplificated separately. Obtained products were analyzed electrophoreticaly in 1.5% agarose gel. For determination of phylogenic tree Quantity one VersaDoc (BioRad) and Statgraphics plus 4.1 programs were used. RESULTS: High degree of heterogeneity of DNA among investigated isolates of M. pachydermatis was shown using FM1 primer. Dendrograms were prepared by calculation euclid's distance of different parameters (size and count of RAPD products) by nearest neighbor method. Basing on phylogenic tree four main types (phylogenic groups) of M. pachydermatis isolates were shown. The other five groups non-count was shown also.

[Yeast-like fungi--occurrence in animals]. / Grzyby drozdzopodobne--wystepowanie u zwierzat.

The yeast-like fungi are typical opportunistic microorganisms which may be a part of normal commensally ontocenosis. Many species of Candida genus may be also a cause of candidosis in human and animals. Clinical symptoms occurred customly in patient with cellular immunity deficiencies. Horizontal (person-to-person) form of transmission is also possible, including family infection or group infection in animals, mostly in birds. According to actual data, zoonotic status of candidosis is still not fully documented. In animals, candidosis more often occurs as endogenic infection. The separate problem is infection of animals with significance suppressed immune system, e.g. with tumor diseases. In necroscopy investigation very often in these animals disseminated candidosis has been observed. On different way the infections of Candida spp. are manifested in birds, when Candida albicans occurs as marginal population of normal intestinal ontocenosis. During stress the intestinal fungal population is growing up for critical value and typical crop candidosis is developing. In our routine diagnostic work we have isolated Candida strains from nutritional tract in laboratory mice. This yeast were isolated also from the bottom of the boxes and from mice faeces.