Curvularia lunata in experimental phaeohyphomycosis.

Curvularia lunata strain SP, isolated from a disseminated human infection, infected normal mice, but three other strains of C. lunata and one each of C. pallescens and C. spicifera did not. The SP strain was recovered in cultures from, and hyphal filaments were observed in, abscesses in the liver and spleen of experimentally infected mice. All strains of Curvularia infected mice treated with 400 rads X-irradiation and 10.0 mg cortisone, but at 400 rads and 5.0 mg only two strains of C. lunata (SP and Ghosh) and C. pallescens and C. spicifera infected mice. At 200 rads and 10.0 mg, C. lunata Sp, C. pallescens and C. spicifera; and at 200 rads and 5.0 mg, only C. lunata SP and C. pallescens caused infection. After X-irradiation (200 or 400 rads) or cortisone (5.0 or 10.0 mg) alone only C. lunata SP caused infections in mice.