Submitted by ROrritt on 2 November 2017
Unlike some other Aspergillus species, Aspergillus terreus infections readily disseminate and are known to respond poorly to antifungals. A study published last month in Scientific Reports sought to compare how conidia (spores) from both A. fumigatus and A. terreus interacted with dendritic cells, to see if this interaction had anything to do with the unique characteristics of A. terreus infection.
The researchers found that A. terreus conidia remained inside the dendritic cells, rather than quickly escaping like those of A. fumigatus. In this way they remained protected from antifungals, whereas A. fumigatus conidia were cleared up quickly.
A. terreus conidia were also less immunogenic than those of A. fumigatus, which triggered various different activation markers on dendritic cells.
Although the dendritic cells that interacted with A. terreus didn’t produce the usual pro-inflammatory or T-cell stimulating cytokines, they were activated by the addition of TNF-alpha, which also prompted expression of migration markers. These findings suggest that dendritic cells carrying A. terreus conidia inadvertently help their passengers to survive and disseminate.
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