Closing the Gap in Proteomic Identification of : A Case Report and Review of Literature

Authors

Terenzio Cosio, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy.
Roberta Gaziano, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy.
Carla Fontana, Laboratory of Microbiology and Biological Bank, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy.
Enrico Salvatore Pistoia, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy.
Rosalba Petruccelli, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Policlinico Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy.
Marco Favaro, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy.
Francesca Pica, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy.
Silvia Minelli, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Policlinico Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy.
Maria Cristina Bossa, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Policlinico Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy.
Anna Altieri, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Policlinico Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy.
Domenico Ombres, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Policlinico Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy.
Nikkia Zarabian, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, 2300 I St NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
Cartesio D'Agostini, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

10-15-2023

Journal

Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland)

Volume

9

Issue

10

DOI

10.3390/jof9101019

Keywords

AIDS; HIV; Histoplasma capsulatum; MALDI-TOF; fungi; literature review; proteomic; reference database

Abstract

Histoplasmosis is a globally distributed systemic infection caused by the dimorphic fungus (). This fungus can cause a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, and the diagnosis of progressive disseminated histoplasmosis is often a challenge for clinicians. Although microscopy and culture remain the gold standard diagnostic tests for identification, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has emerged as a method of microbial identification suitable for the confirmation of dimorphic fungi. However, to our knowledge, there are no entries for spectra in most commercial databases. In this review, we describe the case of disseminated histoplasmosis in a patient living with HIV admitted to our university hospital that we failed to identify by the MALDI-TOF method due to the limited reference spectrum of the instrument database. Furthermore, we highlight the utility of molecular approaches, such as conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing, as alternative confirmatory tests to MALDI-TOF technology for identifying from positive cultures. An overview of current evidence and limitations of MALDI-TOF-based characterization of is also presented.

APA Citation

Cosio, Terenzio; Gaziano, Roberta; Fontana, Carla; Pistoia, Enrico Salvatore; Petruccelli, Rosalba; Favaro, Marco; Pica, Francesca; Minelli, Silvia; Bossa, Maria Cristina; Altieri, Anna; Ombres, Domenico; Zarabian, Nikkia; and D'Agostini, Cartesio, "Closing the Gap in Proteomic Identification of : A Case Report and Review of Literature" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 3600.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/3600

Department

School of Medicine and Health Sciences Student Works