Abstract
Melanin pigments are substances produced by a broad variety of pathogenic microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and helminths. Microbes predominantly produce melanin pigment via tyrosinases, laccases, catecholases, and the polyketide synthase pathway. In fungi, melanin is deposited in the cell wall and cytoplasm, and melanin particles (“ghosts”) can be isolated from these fungi that have the same size and shape of the original cells. Melanin has been reported in several human pathogenic dimorphic fungi including Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Sporothrix schenckii, Histoplasma capsulatum, Blastomyces dermatitidis, and Coccidioides posadasii. Melanization appears to contribute to virulence by reducing the susceptibility of melanized fungi to host defense mechanisms and antifungal drugs.
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Acknowledgment
This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Fapesp) grant 05/02776-0. CPT and LRT are research fellows of the CNPq.
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Taborda, C.P., da Silva, M.B., Nosanchuk, J.D. et al. Melanin as a virulence factor of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and other dimorphic pathogenic fungi: a minireview. Mycopathologia 165, 331–339 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-007-9061-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-007-9061-4