TY  - JOUR
A1  - Dalimot, Jill Jasmine
A1  - Smith, Ilka Mc Cormick
A1  - Gerkrath, Jasmin
A1  - Hartmann, Sylvia
A1  - Cornely, Oliver Andreas
A1  - Lee, Soo Chan
A1  - Heitman, Joseph
A1  - Rickerts, Volker
T1  - Identification of mucormycosis by fluorescence in situ hybridization targeting ribosomal RNA in tissue samples
T2  - Journal of Fungi
N2  - Mucormycosis is an invasive fungal infection associated with high mortality, partly due to delayed diagnosis and inadequate empiric therapy. As fungal cultures often fail to grow Mucorales, identification of respective hyphae in tissue is frequently needed for diagnosis but may be challenging. We studied fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) targeting specific regions of the fungal ribosomal RNA (rRNA) of Mucorales to improve diagnosis of mucormycosis from tissue samples. We generated a probe combination specifically targeting Mucorales. Probe specificity was verified in silico and using cultivated fungi. Mucorales hyphae in tissue of a mouse model demonstrated a bright cytoplasmatic hybridization signal. In tissue samples of patients with mucormycosis, a positive signal was seen in 7 of 12 (58.3%) samples. However, autofluorescence in 3 of 7 (42.9%) samples impaired the diagnostic yield. Subsequent experiments suggested that availability of nutrients and antifungal therapy may impact on the FISH signal obtained with Mucorales hyphae. Diagnosis of mucormycosis from tissue might be improved by rRNA FISH in a limited number of cases only. FISH signals may reflect different wphysiological states of fungi in tissue. Further studies are needed to define the value of FISH to diagnose mucormycosis from other clinical samples.
KW  - mucormycosis
KW  - in situ
KW  - hybridization
KW  - fluorescence
KW  - pathology
Y1  - 2022
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/82816
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-828162
SN  - 2309-608X
N1  - Funding Information: NIH/NIAID R01 AI39115-24
N1  - Funding Information: NIH/NIAID R01 AI50113-17
N1  - Funding Information: NIH/NIAID R03 AI119617
VL  - 8.2022
IS  - 3, art. 289
SP  - 1
EP  - 10
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -