State-of-the-Art on Trichophyton

Dear Colleagues,

Dermatophytoses affect about 25% of the world’s population, and the filamentous fungus Trichophyton rubrum is the main causative agent of this group of diseases. Dermatomycoses are caused by pathogenic fungi that generally trigger superficial infections and that feed on keratinized substrates such as skin, hair, and nails. However, there are an increasing number of reports describing dermatophytes that invade deep layers such as the dermis and hypodermis and that can cause deep infections in diabetic and immunocompromised patients, as well as in individuals with immunodeficiency. Despite the high incidence and importance of dermatophytes in clinical mycology, the diagnosis of this type of infection is not always accurate. The conventional methods most commonly used for mycological diagnosis are based on the identification of microbiological and biochemical features. However, in view of the limitations of these conventional methods, molecular diagnostic techniques are increasingly being used because of their higher sensitivity, specificity, and rapidity and have become more accessible. Molecular techniques are promising, but it is necessary to improve the quality and availability of the information in genomic and proteomic databases in order to streamline the use of bioinformatics in the identification of dermatophytes of clinical interest. Models for the study of superficial infection use culture medium containing protein substrates and fragments of human nails or keratinocyte/skin fragment cultures. On the other hand, new models should be explored for the study of deep infections, including monocyte/macrophage cultures. Large-scale gene expression techniques (transcriptome) are a molecular approach to investigate the mechanisms involved in fungus–host interaction and highlight new antifungal targets Furthermore, studies of the metabolome, proteome, and fungal and human microRNAs should be performed to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying pathogenicity and the response to fungi–host.  This Special Issue of the Journal of Fungi will present state-of-the-art reviews on the topic of “Trichophyton” in order to explore fungi–host interaction and antifungal response revealed through a molecular biology approach.

Prof. Dr. Ana Lúcia Fachin
Guest Editor

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