Pneumocystis causes pneumonia in immunodeficient hosts but also likely causes infection in healthy hosts. To characterize infection in healthy mice, we developed and validated a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for quantitation of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. muris. In healthy mice exposed to Pneumocystis-infected animals, organisms were first detected at 2-3 weeks, peaked at 5-6 weeks,...

While Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP) still impacts the AIDS patients, it has a growing importance in immunosuppressed HIV-negative patients. To determine the anti-Pneumocystis therapeutic efficacy of new compounds, animal and in vitro models have been developed. Indeed, well-designed mouse or rat experimental models of pneumocystosis can be used to describe the in vivo anti-Pneumocystis activity ...

A series of primaquine-derived imidazolidin-4-ones were screened for their in vitro activity against Pneumocystis carinii and Plasmodium falciparum W2 strain. Most compounds were active against P. carinii above 10 microg/mL and displayed slight to marked activity. The imidazolidin-4-ones most active against P. carinii were also those most active antiplasmodial agents, in the muM range. One of t...

Pneumocystis carinii causes severe pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts. The binding of P. carinii to alveolar epithelial cells and extracellular matrix constituents such as fibronectin and vitronectin is a central feature of infection, which initiates proliferation of the organism. Herein, we demonstrate that P. carinii binding to lung cells specifically alters the gene expression of the organ...

A total of 137 sputa from 95 consecutive cystic fibrosis (CF) patients undergoing routine bacteriological surveillance were analyzed for Pneumocystis carinii colonization using nested PCR. Seven of 95 patients (7.4%) were PCR positive, suggesting that P. carinii carriage may exist among CF patients due to their underlying pulmonary disease.

Human-derived Pneumocystis carinii dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) was expressed in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain whose growth depends on complementation by this enzyme. We utilized a quantitative assay to measure the sensitivity of this yeast strain to DHFR inhibitors. This assay should be useful for identifying new inhibitors of human-derived P. carinii DHFR.

carinii. Specificity: QSP228 antibody reacts specifically with P. carinii pneumonia, staining especially cysts present in biopsy material, bronchial lavage and induced sputum samples. For bronchial lavage and induced sputum samples pretreatment of samples with 0.3% dithiothreitol or sputolysin is recommended. In Western blotting analysis the antibody identifies an antigen of 93 kD of P. carinii...

In this study of 28 immunocompromised patients, it was found that Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia could be easily and reliably diagnosed by examination of routinely prepared, Papanicolaou-stained cellular samples obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage, bronchial brushing, and bronchial washing. The distinctive intra-alveolar exudate of pneumocystosis observed in lung biopsy specimens was readily dis...

A patient with an unusual granulomatous response to infection with Pneumocystis carinii is described. The diagnosis was made by open lung biopsy after two negative bronchoalveolar lavages.