Journal List > Korean J Lab Med > v.30(4) > 1011666

Seo, Ma, Lee, Lee, Ki, and Lee: A Case of Disseminated Penicillium marneffei Infection in a Liver Transplant Recipient

Abstract

Penicillium marneffei is the only dimorphic fungus among Penicillium spp. that can cause a fatal infection in immunocompromised patients. P. marneffei is endemic in Southeast Asia and eastern China. P. marneffei infection is an AIDS-defining illness and the third most common opportunistic infection in the endemic regions. Here, the authors report a case of disseminated P. marneffei infection in a patient who underwent liver transplantation in China. During the hospital stay, the mold form of the fungus that produced a red wine-colored pigment on the agar plate was isolated from the patient's urine, transtracheal aspirate, and blood. The fungus was identified as P. marneffei by direct sequencing of the D1-D2 and ITS regions. Thermal dimorphism was also confirmed by subculturing the colony at 37°C. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Korean case of disseminated P. marneffei infection in a liver transplant recipient.

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Fig. 1.
Penicillium marneffei cultured at room temperature. (A) A colony producing a red wine-colored pigment that diffused into the Sabouraud dextrose agar plate. (B) Septated hyphae with phialides branching from the conidiophores and chain-shaped microconidia (Lactophenol cotton blue stain, ×400).
kjlm-30-400f1.tif
Fig. 2.
Penicillium marneffei cultured at 37°C. (A) Small, yellow-white colonies without pigmentation on a brain heart infusion agar plate after a 3-day incubation. (B) Yeast cells of P. marneffei with transverse septum (arrow) (Gram stain, ×1,000).
kjlm-30-400f2.tif
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