Trichophyton rubrum is one of the most common types of dermatophyte, causing superficial skin mycosis in humans. Laser treatment of onychomycosis has been proven to be effective in the clinic; however, the underlying mechanism of the effect of the laser on fungal growth is not clear.

The goal of a new article published in Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine was to observe the ultrastructural changes of Trichophyton rubrum following laser irradiation, and to compare the transcriptome differences between the laser irradiation group and control group.

Here, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe the ultrastructural changes following the laser irradiation of Trichophyton rubrum. RNA-seq was performed to investigate the effects of laser irradiation on Trichophyton rubrum by comparing the transcriptome pattern with the control.

It was found that laser irradiation resulted in the destruction of the cell membrane system. A significant induction of apoptosis was noted compared with the control group—confirmed by the formation of the myeloid body and protein aggregates in the cytoplasm. The expression levels of Acyl-CoA N-acyltransferase and S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent methyltransferase were increased in the laser irradiation group.

Hence, laser irradiation triggered the initiation of the damage-repair pathway. The results indicated that laser irradiation caused physiological injury and therefore, inhibited the growth of Trichophyton rubrum.

Source: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2020 Apr 16;2020:6052461. doi: 10.1155/2020/6052461.