Tissue Microenvironment Signatures of the Mycetoma Granuloma

Mycetoma is the most neglected of the neglected tropical diseases. It is caused by certain fungi or bacteria. It is endemic in many tropical and subtropical regions and Sudan seems to be the mycetoma homeland. This chronic subcutaneous destructive and disabling inflammatory disease has many serious medical and socio-economic impacts on patients, community and health authorities. This work may suggest new therapeutic options for mycetoma that target the inflammatory pathogenic pathway and hence help in designing universal treatment options for mycetoma patients. Two overlapping aims were investigated in this project to advance our overall goals: 1. Profiling the immune/inflammatory signatures in the tissue microenvironment of fungus-induced mycetoma lesions 2. Profiling the immune/inflammatory signatures in the tissue microenvironment of bacteria-induced mycetoma lesions.