Clinicopathological features of pulmonary cryptococcosis with cryptococcal titan cells: a comparative analysis of 27 cases.

Clinicopathological features of pulmonary cryptococcosis with cryptococcal titan cells: a comparative analysis of 27 cases. Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2014;7(8):4837-46 Authors: Wang JM, Zhou Q, Cai HR, Zhuang Y, Zhang YF, Xin XY, Meng FQ, Wang YP Abstract In addition to the typical size, Cryptococcus neoformans can enlarge its size to form titan cells during infection, and its diameter can reach up to 100 μm. Clinical reports about cryptococcal titan cells are rare. Most studies focus on aspects of animal models of infection with titan cells. Herein, we report the clinical and imaging characteristics and histopathologic features of 3 patients with titan cells and 27 patients with pathogens of typical size, and describe the morphological characteristics of titan cells in details. Histologically, 3 patients with titan cells show necrosis, fibrosis and macrophage accumulation. The titan cells appear in necrotic tissue and between macrophages, and have thick wall with unstained halo around them and diameters range from 20 to 80 μm with characteristic of narrow-necked single budding. There are also organisms with typical size. All 27 patients with normal pathogens show epithelioid granulomatous lesions. There is no significantly difference in clinical and imaging feature between the two groups. Cryptococcus neoformans exhibits a striking morphological change for the formation of titan cells during pulmonary infection, which will result in ...
Source: International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology - Category: Pathology Authors: Tags: Int J Clin Exp Pathol Source Type: research