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Review
. 2014 Nov 3;4(12):a019828.
doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a019828.

Pneumocystis

Francis Gigliotti  1 , Andrew H Limper  2 , Terry Wright  1
Affiliations
Review

Pneumocystis

Francis Gigliotti et al. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. .

Abstract

Since its initial misidentification as a trypanosome some 100 years ago, Pneumocystis has remained recalcitrant to study. Although we have learned much, we still do not have definitive answers to such basic questions as, where is the reservoir of infection, how does Pneumocystis reproduce, what is the mechanism of infection, and are there true species of Pneumocystis? The goal of this review is to provide the reader the most up to date information available about the biology of Pneumocystis and the disease it produces.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Electron micrographic visualization of typical Pneumocystis life cycle forms. (A) Reveals a trophic form of P. carinii adherent to a type I alveolar epithelial cell, mediated by interdigitation of the organism’s plasma membrane with that of the host cell. (B) Shows a thick-walled cyst form of P. carinii. Scale bars, ∼1 μm. (From Limper et al. 1997; reprinted, with permission, from the author.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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