In general, fungi including yeast and filamentous form, locate in soil, water, plant, animal and human. Fungi can be survived almost in every environmental conditions and be useful or harmful for humans. Some human pathogenic fungi may infection immunocompromised peoples and/or susceptible hosts causing hypersensitivity disease, mycotoxicoses, which can be induced by mycotoxins, and mycoses. Mycoses are classified into four classes, such as superficial and/or cutaneous mycoses, subcutaneous mycoses, opportunistic mycoses, and systemic or deep seated mycoses. Recently, due to the increasement of immune system defective patients which are usually caused by HIV infection, transplant and cancer, opportunistic systemic fungal infection has been dramatically elevated. Fast diagnose system and early antifungal treatments are required because the morbidity and mortality of these systemic infections are very high. Although these opportunistic infections caused by mainly Candida, Aspergillus and Cryptococcus spp. are getting higher, no culture collection and/or strain bank for the infectious fungal strains are operated in Korea. These situations allows us to establish a novel Korean collection of medical fungi (KCMF) for their genetic materials. KCMF will be a hub for human pathogenic fungal strains isolated in Korea and will serve to studies of clinical and basic mycological research as well as to maintain various mutants and varieties which could be useful for develop new antifungal agents and drug discovery. The successful Korean Collection of Medical Fungi (KCMF) will contribute to; 1. Create informative world-wide culture collection of clinically isolated fungal strains. 2. Obtain various medical mycological materials as well as antifungal agent resistant strains for studying fungi-related topics including novel antifungal agents. 3. Create world-wide network for the researchers who study medical mycology and provide workshop and various information for the fungal community. The purpose of establish a novel Korean collection of medical fungi(KCMF) is to isolate, classify, and collect human pathogenic fungal strains, isolated from human clinical specimens from superficial and systemic infections. Furthermore, maintaining a culture collection for Korean specific clinical isolates and resistant strains of antifungal agents.
Animals ; Antifungal Agents ; Aspergillus ; Candida ; Cryptococcus ; Fungi ; HIV Infections ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immune System ; Korea ; Mycology ; Mycoses ; Mycotoxicosis ; Mycotoxins ; Opportunistic Infections ; Plants ; Soil ; Sprains and Strains ; Transplants ; Yeasts

Three dead dogs were brought to the College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University for study. Clinically, all the dogs showed emaciation, anorexia, depression, hemorrhagic vomiting and diarrhea for 7~10 days before death. All the clinical signs were first noted for about one month after feeding the dogs with commercial diets. At necropsy, all 3 dogs had severe renal damage with the same green-yellowish colored nephroliths in the renal pelvis. They also showed systemic hemorrhage and calcification of several organs, which might have been induced by uremia. Microscopically, necrosis, calcification and calculi were detected in the renal tubules, and especially in the proximal convoluted tubules and collecting ducts of the kidney. These findings were supportive of a mycotoxic effect, and especially on their kidneys. However, the precise cause of the toxic effect in these cases of canine renal failure could not be determined.
Animals ; Dog Diseases/microbiology/*pathology ; Dogs ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Histocytochemistry/veterinary ; Kidney Failure, Acute/microbiology/pathology/*veterinary ; Male ; Mycotoxicosis/microbiology/pathology/*veterinary

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin produced by several species of Fusarium that are found in cereals and agricultural products. ZEN has been implicated in mycotoxicosis in farm animals and in humans. The toxic effects of ZEN are well known, but the ability of an alkaline Comet assay to assess ZEN-induced oxidative DNA damage in Chang liver cells has not been established. The first aim of this study was to evaluate the Comet assay for the determination of cytotoxicity and extent of DNA damage induced by ZEN toxin, and the second aim was to investigate the ability of N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA) to protect cells from ZEN-induced toxicity. In the Comet assay, DNA damage was assessed by quantifying the tail extent moment (TEM; arbitrary unit) and tail length (TL; arbitrary unit), which are used as indicators of DNA strand breaks in SCGE. The cytotoxic effects of ZEN in Chang liver cells were mediated by inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of oxidative DNA damage. Increasing the concentration of ZEN increased the extent of DNA damage. The extent of DNA migration, and percentage of cells with tails were significantly increased in a concentration-dependent manner following treatment with ZEN toxin (p < 0.05). Treatment with a low concentration of ZEN toxin (25 microM) induced a relatively low level of DNA damage, compared to treatment of cells with a high concentration of ZEN toxin (250 microM). Oxidative DNA damage appeared to be a key determinant of ZEN-induced toxicity in Chang liver cells. Significant reductions in cytolethality and oxidative DNA damage were observed when cells were pretreated with NACA prior to exposure to any concentration of ZEN. Our data suggest that ZEN induces DNA damage in Chang liver cells, and that the antioxidant activity of NACA may contribute to the reduction of ZEN-induced DNA damage and cytotoxicity via elimination of oxidative stress.
Acetylcysteine ; Animals, Domestic ; Cell Proliferation ; Edible Grain ; Comet Assay ; DNA ; DNA Damage ; Electrophoresis ; Estrogens ; Fusarium ; Humans ; Liver ; Mycotoxicosis ; Oxidative Stress ; Zearalenone

Sago haemolytic disease is a rare but sometimes fatal disease found primarily in the coastal regions of Papua New Guinea and among groups in which sago is a primary source of carbohydrate. It has been known since 1961 and fungi consistently have been suspected of being involved. Investigations carried out on stored sago and samples recovered from poisoning episodes have failed to indicate the consistent presence of mycotoxins. However, fungi (especially Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Trichoderma) with strong haemolytic activity have been associated with sago, particularly when stored in open-weave baskets and sago-leaf-wrapped bundles. The haemolytic activity has been attributed to fatty acids (principally oleic, palmitic, linoleic) contained primarily in the fungal hyphae. It is hypothesized that when these acids are released through hyphal breakdown during digestion and are present in individuals with a low serum albumin level, free fatty acid excess occurs resulting in red cell membrane destruction and intravascular haemolysis. In extreme cases, blood transfusion is required. Methods of storage providing high levels of access to oxygen favour the development of fungi: eg, leaf-encased bundles and open-weave storage favour growth over that seen in starch stored under water, such as in earthen vessels. Ensuring storage does not exceed 3-4 weeks, encouraging anaerobic conditions of the starch and maintaining protein nutrition in communities where sago is relied upon should alleviate outbreak episodes.
Anemia, Hemolytic/*epidemiology/*microbiology ; *Cycas ; Dietary Carbohydrates/*poisoning ; Food Handling ; Foodborne Diseases/*epidemiology/*microbiology ; Humans ; Mycotoxicosis/*epidemiology/*microbiology ; Papua New Guinea/epidemiology

Mistakenly picking and eating poisonous mushrooms can cause acute poisoning. In August 2020, Qingdao Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine handled a poisonous mushroom poisoning incident, conducted epidemiological investigation on all poisoned patients, collected suspicious food, clinical manifestations, clinical test results and treatment conditions, and identified the mushrooms as Amanita fuliginea poisoning after morphological identification. In this incident, 6 people ate grey goose paste, of which 4 were sick with a incubation period of 6~12 h. The clinical manifestations were gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, liver and kidney damage. After symptomatic support treatment, hemoperfusion or continuous hemofiltration treatment, the patients were cured and discharged. It is suggested to strengthen the popular science education on poisonous mushroom poisoning and improve the ability of identification and clinical treatment of poisonous mushrooms in grass-roots medical institutions.
Amanita ; Hemoperfusion ; Humans ; Liver ; Mushroom Poisoning/therapy*

Here we describe a case of ergotism that presented with ischemia in all four extremities. A 48-year-old man was admitted for pain and weakness in both upper extremities. He had a long history of migraine and had taken 3 mg of ergotamine daily for more than 21 years. Angiography demonstrated vasospasm involving all four extremities, which resolved partially following intra-arterial prostaglandin infusion. Intravenous nitroprusside was administered, and the patient stopped smoking and stopped taking ergotamine in an attempt to counteract the vasospasm. Follow-up computed tomography angiogram revealed that both brachial arteries had normalized. Thus, in this case of ergotism, severe vasospasm in all of the extremities was resolved with appropriate management.
Angiography ; Brachial Artery ; Ergotamine ; Ergotism* ; Extremities* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ischemia* ; Middle Aged ; Migraine Disorders ; Nitroprusside ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Upper Extremity

To eat unidentified or misidentified mushrooms taken from the wild can be very dangerous. In the vast majority of toxic mushroom ingestions in Korea, the mushroom was incorrectly identified. In general, poisoning of toxic mushrooms can be classified into seven types according to the toxins that they contain; amatoxin, gyromitrin, coprine, muscarine, ibotenic acid-muscimol, psilocybin-psilocin and gastrointestinal irritants. When clinicians care for a patient who ingested a toxic mushroom, it is very important to identify what kind of mushroom may have caused a patient's illness. But, in clinical practice, accurate botanical identification of the mushroom can be very difficult. Therefore, for estimating the caused mushroom and adequate treatment of poisoning, clinicians should know the type and treatment of toxic mushroom poisoning.
Agaricales* ; Edetic Acid ; Humans ; Irritants ; Korea* ; Muscarine ; Mushroom Poisoning* ; Poisoning

Mushroom-related poisoning can cause acute kidney injury. Here we report a case of acute kidney injury after ingestion of Amanita punctata, which is considered an edible mushroom. Gastrointestinal symptoms occurred within 24 hours from the mushroom intake and were followed by an asymptomatic period, acute kidney injury, and elevation of liver and pancreatic enzymes. Kidney function recovered with supportive care. Nephrotoxic mushroom poisoning should be considered as a cause of acute kidney injury.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Agaricales ; Amanita* ; Eating ; Kidney ; Liver ; Mushroom Poisoning ; Poisoning*

Mushroom poisoning widely reported in Oriental and Western literature, is typically caused by accidental ingestion of toxic mushrooms that resemble edible mushrooms. Reports about poisoning due to species of Omphalotus, Amanita, Clitocybe, and other toxic mushroom species have been reported; toxicity depends on the mushroom species and the amount of toxin, which varies according to the climatic and environmental conditions. Symptoms of poisoning, such as unspecific nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, as well as intestinal, hepatic and renal toxicities, also vary according to the mushroom species. Most patients recover with anti-muscarinic therapy and supportive care for nonspecific symptoms; however some cases of poisoning are fatal in children and elderly people. We report a case of sudden death due to mushroom poisoning in a 74-year-old woman, with hemorrhagic enteritis.
Agaricales* ; Aged ; Amanita ; Child ; Death, Sudden ; Diarrhea ; Eating ; Enteritis* ; Female ; Humans ; Mushroom Poisoning* ; Nausea ; Poisoning ; Vomiting

Adult ; Child ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mushroom Poisoning ; diagnosis ; therapy