Metabolism of Malassezia spp Yeasts
Keywords:
Malassezia, metabolism, lipids, lipases, pigmentAbstract
Despite a great interest in Malassezia yeasts their metabolism is still little known. Most studied is their lipid metabolism. Only recently it was found that Malassezia produces pigments derived from tryptophan, which play a role in the pathogenesis of skin diseases. Malassezin synergism with other indole pigments is considered to be the cause of clinical manifestation of pityriasis versicolor such as hypopigmentation, lesions resistant to UV radiation and decreased expression of inflammatory response.