Deep dermatophytosis is a rare condition in which
dermatophyte
Dermatophyte (from Greek '' derma'' "skin" (GEN ''dermatos'') and ''phyton'' "plant") is a common label for a group of fungus of ''Arthrodermataceae'' that commonly causes skin disease in animals and humans. Traditionally, these anamorphic (as ...
s invades the deep
dermis
The dermis or corium is a layer of skin between the epidermis (with which it makes up the cutis) and subcutaneous tissues, that primarily consists of dense irregular connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. It is divided i ...
,
subcutis
The subcutaneous tissue (), also called the hypodermis, hypoderm (), subcutis, superficial fascia, is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. The types of cells found in the layer are fibroblasts, adipose cells, and ma ...
or even
internal organ
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...
s. The known causes of this condition are caused by primary or secondary immunodeficiency, which includes organ transplant recipients, malignant conditions e.g. leukemia, HIV infection. It is also associated with asthma, atopic dermatitis and diabetes.
It has been shown that deficiency in the
NF-κB
Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) is a protein complex that controls transcription of DNA, cytokine production and cell survival. NF-κB is found in almost all animal cell types and is involved in cellular ...
signaling pathways, the nonsense mutation of
CARD9
Caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 9 is an adaptor protein of the CARD-CC protein family, which in humans is encoded by the ''CARD9'' gene. It mediates signals from pattern recognition receptors to activate pro-inflammatory and anti-i ...
-complex (caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 9), are susceptible to chronic fungal infection and deep dermatophytosis.
[Glocker EO, et al. A Homozygous CARD9 Mutation in a Family with Susceptibility to Fungal Infections. New England Journal of Medicine. 2009 October 29; 361(18): 1727–1735.]
References
Further reading
* Chastain MA, et al. Deep dermatophytosis: report of 2 cases and review of the literature. Cutis 2001;67:457.
* Hay RJ, Baran R. Deep dermatophytosis: rare infections or common, but unrecognized, complications of lymphatic spread? Current Opinion in Infectious Diseaases. 2004;17:77.
External links
Animal fungal diseases
{{cutaneous-infection-stub