Inoculation experimental animals with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis strains: an attempt to reestablish the dimorphic process and variation in pathogenicity as a function of time of preservation under mineral oil.

In an attempt to reestablish the dimorphic process in strains of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in the transition phase (Y reversible M) and to reisolate them, five strains in the transitional phase due to the long time of preservation under mineral oil and two strains in the yeast-like phase were inoculated into male albino rats. The animals were then studied for the presence of paracoccidioidomycotic granulomata. Of the seven strains inoculated, five caused granulomatous nodules in several organs of the animals and only two of these five strains, which had been preserved for the shortest period of time (9 years) were reisolated in culture. Two strains were unable to provoke infection, with no lesions detected in any organ. It is assumed that the long period of time during which the strains were left under oil favored the alteration of celt wall contents, leading to differences in pathogenicity.