The mortality and morbidity rate of mucormycosis is high. Lichtheimia is the third-most-frequent genus that causes mucormycosis and is responsible for approximately 5% of the cases. One of the Lichtheimia species – the Lichtheimia ramosa (L. ramosa) – is involved in mucormycosis. Although the antifungal agents such as amphotericin B have been found for mucormycosis treatment, new and efficient antifungals that have potential utility are still in urgent need. As a well-trusted drug development partner, Creative Biolabs provides access to a dedicated team of senior scientists to help design and conduct preclinical studies for your specific antifungal compounds and therapeutic targets.
Introduction to L. ramosa
L. ramosa belongs to the genu Lichtheimia (syn. Mycocladus, Absidia proparte). It is most common in soil, decaying plant debris, and foodstuffs. It is an emerging Mucoralean fungus that is known to cause human infections predominantly in patients with compromised immune systems. Cutaneous, pulmonary, rhinal, renal, disseminated infections, and otomycosis have been reported and hence a wide spectrum of infections due to Lichtheimia species. For instance, L. ramosa was isolated from a young patient from an infected wound after a road traffic accident (Neelaveni et al. 2017). Primary cutaneous mucormycosis was reported in a patient with burn wounds due to L. ramosa (Kaur et al. 2014). Besides, a fatal case of mucormycosis, affecting a 56-year-old male with diabetes mellitus and siderosis, was reported (Mouronte-Roibás et al. 2016).
Fig.1 Pulmonary mucormycosis due to L. ramosa in a patient with HIV infection. (Kutlu, 2014)
Susceptibility of L. ramosa to Antifungal Drugs
Treatment of mucormycosis involves a combination of empirical antifungal treatment and surgical debridement of involved tissues. Amphotericin B is the most active drug against Lichthermia species and is the preferred empiric treatment for L. ramosa and other mucormycosis.
Features of our Services
Creative Biolabs develops and delivers state-of-the-art integrated antifungal drug discovery services to support the rapidly growing interests in this field. We provide a comprehensive service package that covers every stage of the preclinical drug discovery process, including target identification and validation, Hit identification, Hit to lead, Lead optimization, and IND enabling. Moreover, our services are characterized by:
Other fungi that are implicated in mucormycosis include:
If you are interested in our services, please contact us or send us an inquiry.
References
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