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Exacerbation of invasive aspergillosis by the immunosuppressive fungal metabolite, gliotoxin
Author(s) -
SUTTON PHILIP,
WARING PAUL,
MÜLLBACHER ARNO
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
immunology and cell biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0818-9641
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1996.57
Subject(s) - gliotoxin , aspergillosis , aspergillus fumigatus , metabolite , allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis , microbiology and biotechnology , exacerbation , aspergillus , medicine , secondary metabolite , immunology , biology , biochemistry , gene , immunoglobulin e , antibody
Summary Invasive aspergillosis is a significant cause of death in immunocompromised individuals. The majority of strains of the main causative agent, Aspergillus fumigatus , produce gliotoxin, a secondary metabolite with demonstrated in vitro immunosuppressive activity. Pretreatment of normally resistant mice with a single injection of a sublethal dose of gliotoxin was sufficient to make them susceptible to infection and subsequent death, after challenge with A. fumigatus spores. Animals infected with the non‐gliotoxin producing strain survived significantly longer than those infected with a gliotoxin producer. We propose that the release of gliotoxin by A. fumigatus hyphae during infection can exacerbate the pathogenesis of aspergillosis.