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Interaction of A spergillus fumigatus conidia with A canthamoeba castellanii parallels macrophage–fungus interactions
Author(s) -
Van Waeyenberghe Lieven,
Baré Julie,
Pasmans Frank,
Claeys Myriam,
Bert Wim,
Haesebrouck Freddy,
Houf Kurt,
Martel An
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
environmental microbiology reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.229
H-Index - 69
ISSN - 1758-2229
DOI - 10.1111/1758-2229.12082
Subject(s) - aspergillus fumigatus , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , conidium , amoeba (genus) , vacuole , legionella pneumophila , macrophage , cytoplasm , bacteria , botany , in vitro , biochemistry , genetics
Summary A spergillus fumigatus and free‐living amoebae are common inhabitants of soil. Mechanisms of A . fumigatus to circumvent the amoeba's digestion may facilitate overcoming the vertebrate macrophage defence mechanisms. We performed co‐culture experiments using A . fumigatus conidia and the amoeba A canthamoeba castellanii . Approximately 25% of the amoebae ingested A. fumigatus conidia after 1 h of contact. During intra‐amoebal passage, part of the ingested conidia was able to escape the food vacuole and to germinate inside the cytoplasm of A . castellanii . Fungal release into the extra‐protozoan environment by exocytosis of conidia or by germination was observed with light and transmission electron microscopy. These processes resulted in structural changes in A . castellanii , leading to amoebal permeabilization without cell lysis. In conclusion, A . castellanii internalizes A . fumigatus conidia, resulting in fungal intracellular germination and subsequent amoebal death. As such, this interaction highly resembles that of A . fumigatus with mammalian and avian macrophages. This suggests that A . fumigatus virulence mechanisms to evade macrophage killing may be acquired by co‐evolutionary interactions among A . fumigatus and environmental amoebae.