The Balancing Universe: The Story of Human Invasion and The Primitive yet Evolutionary Prototheca

Authors

  • Raman Sardana Department of Microbiology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi
  • Hena Butta Department of Microbiology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi
  • Leena Mendiratta Department of Microbiology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi
  • Sanjiv Jasuja Department of Nephrology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi
  • Immaculata Xess All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
  • Gagandeep Singh All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
  • Parul Sobti Department of Pathology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21276/apalm.3267

Keywords:

Prototheca, Chlorella, immunocompromised, cutaneous

Abstract

Prototheca is an achlorophyllic environmental algae and is an underrecognized pathogen. It may cause infections in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients but usually misidentified as yeast. The identification of this microorganism requires advanced methods like MALDITOF MS (Matrix assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight) and Molecular techniques. Hereby, we report a case of Cutaneous infection by Prototheca wickerhamii in a 49 years old post kidney transplant patient which resembled morphologically as Cryptococcus on histopathological examination but turned out to be Prototheca wickerhamii on fungal culture using MALDITOF MS method for identification. Patient responded to treatment with Amphotericin B.

References

Lass-Flo¨rl C and Astrid Mayr. Human Protothecosis. Clinical Microbiology Reviews 2007;20(2): 230-42.

Todd JR, Matsumoto T, Ueno R, Murugaiyan J, Britten A, King JW, et al. Medical Phycology 2017. Med Mycol 2018; 56(suppl1):S188–204.

Bakuła Z, Siedlecki P, Gromadka R, Gawor J, Gromadka A, Pomorski JJ, Panagiotopoulou H and Jagielski T. A first insight into the genome of Prototheca wickerhamii, a major causative agent of human protothecosis. BMC Genomics 2021;22:168.

Wang X, Ran Y, Jia S, Ahmed S, Long X, Jiang Y and Jiang Y. Human Disseminated Protothecosis: The Skin is the “Window� Front Immunol 2022;13:880196.

Rajan A, Pai VV, Shukla P. Cutaneous protothecosis in an immunocompetent host. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2020;86:414-7.

Jagielski T, Lagneau PE. Protothecosis. A pseudofungal infection. Journal de Mycologie Médicale 2007; 17: 261—270

Bito T, Okumura E, Fujishima M, Watanabe F. Potential of Chlorella as a Dietary Supplement to Promote Human Health. Nutrients 2020;12(9):2524.

Machado, L.; Carvalho, G.; Pereira, R.N. Effects of Innovative Processing Methods on Microalgae Cell Wall: Prospects towards Digestibility of Protein-Rich Biomass. Biomass 2022; 2, 80–102.

Masojídek J, Torzillo G (2014) Mass Cultivation of Freshwater Microalgae. On-line database Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, Elsevier, 2nd edition, pp. 1-13

JY, Lee Y, Lee H, Yi SY, Oh HE, Song JS. The Korean Journal of Pathology 2013; 47: 575-578.

McMullan B, Muthiah K, Stark D, Lee L and Marriott D. Prototheca wickerhamii Mimicking Yeast: a Cautionary Tale. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2011;49:3078–81.

Khan ID, Sahni AK, Sen S, Gupta RM, Basu A. Outbreak of Prototheca wickerhamii algaemia and sepsis in a tertiary care chemotherapy oncology unit. Medical journal armed forces India 2018;7 4:358-64.

Gandham NR, Vyawahare CR, Chaudhaury N, Shinde RA. Onychoprotothecosis: An uncommon presentation of protothecosis. Indian J Med Microbiol 2015;33:435-7.

Rao PV, Sethuraman N, Ramanathan Y, Gopalakrishnan R. Disseminated protothecosis caused by Prototheca zopfii in a liver transplant recipient. J Global Infect Dis 2018;10:228-9.

Narayanan N, Vaidehi D, Dhanurekha L, Therese KL, Rajagopal R, Natarajan R, et al. Unusual ulcerative keratitis caused by Prototheca wickerhamii in a diabetic patient. Indian J Ophthalmol 2018;66:311-4.

Downloads

Published

07-12-2023

How to Cite

1.
Sardana R, Butta H, Mendiratta L, Jasuja S, Xess I, Singh G, et al. The Balancing Universe: The Story of Human Invasion and The Primitive yet Evolutionary Prototheca. Ann of Pathol and Lab Med [Internet]. 2023 Dec. 7 [cited 2024 Nov. 19];10(8):C132-137. Available from: https://pacificejournals.com/journal/index.php/apalm/article/view/3267

Issue

Section

Case Report