Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is a fungus that causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients, with high morbidity and mortality. In its turn, A. fumigatus can become infected with mycoviruses. Most mycoviruses have a dsRNA genome and can cause fungal hypovirulence. For that reason, mycoviruses could theoretically be used as therapeutic tools to combat fungal infections. We determined if a certain genetic make-up of A. fumigatus was associated with the presence of mycoviruses in 86 clinical A. fumigatus isolates. Mycovirus screening was performed by isolating dsRNA from mycelial cultures using a Trizol/Chloroform method. The genetic relatedness of dsRNA infected A. fumigatus was determined by cell surface protein (CSP) typing and determination of the mating type. Sixteen (18.6%) of the 86 clinical A. fumigatus isolates contained dsRNA. The A. fumigatus collection could be divided into 11 different CSP types. DsRNA infected A. fumigatus isolates had similar CSP types as non-infected isolates. In both cases, the CSP types t01, t02, t03 and t04 were the most prevalent and the distribution comparable to the CSP types observed in other Dutch collections. Mating types MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 were evenly distributed among all A. fumigatus strains, regardless of CSP type. No difference was observed in mycovirus infections between MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 isolates. DsRNA mycovirus infections in A. fumigatus are not related to either CSP or mating type and therefore represent an interesting future therapeutic tool to combat fungal infections.
Highlights
Aspergillus fumigatus is a filamentous fungus that is capable of causing a wide range of diseases in human
We have shown that double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) mycovirus infection of A. fumigatus strains is not related to a certain cell surface protein (CSP) type or mating type
This is an important finding since dsRNA mycoviruses must be able to infect almost all A. fumigatus isolates, before they can be regarded as a therapeutic tool for invasive aspergillosis
Summary
Aspergillus fumigatus is a filamentous fungus that is capable of causing a wide range of diseases in human. Inhaled conidia can cause allergic responses such as Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA) or allergic Aspergillus sinusitis. ABPA affects 7 - 9% of cystic fibroses (CF) patients and 1 – 2% individuals that suffer from asthma [1,2,3]. A. fumigatus can cause invasive aspergillosis of which invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is the most common manifestation. Despite adequate antifungal treatment mortality rates remain high, over 50% [4,5]. Voriconazole is the drug of choice for treatment of invasive aspergillosis, especially in patients with a compromised immune system. Resistance towards azole antifungal agents is emerging, which may contribute to the dismal outcome of invasive aspergillosis. The need for novel therapeutic approaches in the fight against A. fumigatus is growing
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