Lipids

Abstract

Several reports and reviews on Pneumocystis lipids have appeared since the last edition of this book [1,2], so there is now ample information available for an entire chapter devoted to this topic. Most biochemical data are on P. carinii [3] organisms isolated and purified from infected rat lungs. Less is known about human-derived P. jirovecii [4] and other species. All major lipid classes have been examined (Fig. 1); but details on molecular structures and metabolism are available for only some groups, such as the sterols, ubiquinones, and fatty acids.