Ultrastructural study of the interaction of the fungi Sporothrix schenckii and Ceratocystis stenoceras with bone-marrow-derived murine macrophages.

Bone-marrow-derived macrophages of C57BL/6 mice cultivated in vitro were infected with the yeast form of Sporothrix schenckii or Ceratocystis stenoceras. Observations made in light and electron microscopy showed that part of the S. schenckii-containing phagosomes rapidly fused with lysosomes and fungal cells were digested. Surviving fungal cells elongated very rapidly and were liberated into the culture medium after 48 h upon macrophage lysis. The cells of the non-pathogenic isolate C. stenoceras did not elongate and were almost all digested after 8 days, while macrophages were unaltered. Staining for acid phosphatase showed that this enzymatic activity increased soon after ingestion with both isolates. However, this increase was less pronounced with S. schenckii than with the non-pathogenic isolate. The search for a toxic substance produced by S. schenckii and responsible for the low content in acid phosphatase and subsequent macrophage lysis remained negative. It is thus probable that both phenomena essentially resulted from fungus filamentation which led to a dramatic distortion of phagosomes and host cells.