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. 2012;8(3):e1002564.
doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002564. Epub 2012 Mar 29.

A foot in the door for dermatophyte research

Rebecca Rashid Achterman  1 , Theodore C White
Affiliations

A foot in the door for dermatophyte research

Rebecca Rashid Achterman et al. PLoS Pathog. 2012.
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Tineas throughout the body.
Tineas are dermatophyte infections of the skin. From top to bottom, left to right: fungal infections of a) hair (tinea capitis); b) face (tinea capitis / ringworm); c) arm (tinea corporis); d) close-up of ringworm; e) torso with concentric rings (tinea imbricata / tinea corporis); f) groin (tinea cruris); g) toe webbing (tinea pedis); h) foot (tinea pedis / “moccasin” type); and i) nails (onycomycosis). Photos courtesy of Doctor Fungus (http://www.doctorfungus.org) and the Public Health Image Library (PHIL, http://phil.cdc.gov/phil/home.asp).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Major dermatophyte species—appearance in the laboratory.
Each section shows one of four species of dermatophyte, including a semicircle of fungus growing on an agar plate (top) and a microscopic picture of the asexual spores (macroconidia and microconidia, bottom). Photos courtesy of Doctor Fungus (http://www.doctorfungus.org) and the Public Health Image Library (PHIL, http://phil.cdc.gov/phil/home.asp).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Relationship between fungus, disease, the immune system, and drugs.
The left signifies the presence of dermatophytes on the skin, either by new infection or relapse of a previous infection. The right signifies tineas caused by these infections. This progression to disease can be inhibited by the immune system and antifungal drugs. However, immune dysfunction can reduce the immune response to these infections, and drug resistance or tolerance can overcome the action of the drugs. Resistance or tolerance to antifungal drugs is implied but is not documented in dermatophytes. The roles of the immune system, immune dysfunction, drug response, and drug resistance are all areas of active research.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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