Disseminated Penicillium radicum infection in a dog, clinically resembling multicentric malignant lymphoma

摘要

After detecting fungal organisms in smears of enlarged peripheral lymph nodes in a dog, determination was performed through culturing and genetic typing. The fungus was identified as Penicillium radicum by amplification of fungal DNA encoding of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region and comparison with DNA databases. In vitro susceptibility testing revealed multiresistance. In the literature, P. radicum is mentioned as a phosphate solubilizing agent used in agriculture for promoting plantgrowth. This is the first publication of a disseminated P. radicum infection in a dog. The generalized lymphadenopathy and hypercalcemia strongly resembled a multicentric lymphoma. Hypercalcemia in granulomatous diseases, including disseminated fungal infections, is caused by activated macrophages possessing la-hydroxylase, which is able to convert 25-hydroxyvitamin-D into calcitriol. Although disseminated fungal infections are extremely rare in The Netherlands and Belgium, they should be included in the differential diagnosis of dogs with multicentric lymphadenopathy and hypercalcemia.