Dynamics of extracellular release of Aspergillus fumigatus DNA and galactomannan during growth in blood and serum.
Aspergillus fumigatus is the major cause of invasive aspergillosis (IA), a disease associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing treatment for haematological malignancies. This study investigated A. fumigatus growth in vitro and in a murine model of IA in order to provide insights into the dynamics of extracellular DNA and galactomannan (GM) release and their relevance to early diagnosis of IA. Following inoculation of whole blood with 20 A. fumigatus conidia ml(-1), DNA that corresponded to the inoculum could be detected by PCR but GM was not detected in plasma separated from the blood sample, indicating that the fungus did not grow in whole blood. The quantities of DNA detected by PCR, and GM, were proportional to the amount of fungal biomass present in vitro. Fungal DNA could be detected in the sera of mice experimentally infected with A. fumigatus with maximum detection in cyclophosphamide-treated mice.
Morton
C O
CO
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sir PatrickDun Research Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin, St James's Hospital,Dublin 8, Ireland.
Loeffler
J
J
Universität Würzburg, Medizinische Klinik &Poliklinik II, 97070 Würzburg, Germany.
De Luca
A
A
Department of Experimental Medicine, University ofPerugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Frost
S
S
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sir PatrickDun Research Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin, St James's Hospital,Dublin 8, Ireland.
Kenny
C
C
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sir PatrickDun Research Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin, St James's Hospital,Dublin 8, Ireland.
Duval
S
S
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sir PatrickDun Research Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin, St James's Hospital,Dublin 8, Ireland.
Romani
L
L
Department of Experimental Medicine, University ofPerugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Rogers
T R
TR
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sir PatrickDun Research Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin, St James's Hospital,Dublin 8, Ireland.
D000818:Animals; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D003470:Culture Media; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000097:blood*; D005690:Galactose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D006801:Humans; D008351:Mannans / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D003470:Culture Media; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D008351:Mannans; C012990:galactomannan; D005690:Galactose