title: Exploring the concordance of Aspergillus fumigatus pathogenicity in mice and Toll-deficient flies.
abstract: The pathogenicity of six mutants of Aspergillus fumigatus that had been previously characterized in mice was assessed in Toll-deficient Drosophila melanogaster flies. Four out of six mutants of A. fumigatus, which displayed attenuated virulence in mice due to defects in siderophore biosynthesis (DeltasidA, DeltasidD), PABA metabolism (H515), and starvation stress response (DeltacpcA), also had attenuated virulence in the fly model. In addition, similarly to previous findings in the mouse model, DeltasidG mutant that is defective in extracellular siderophore biosynthesis retained full virulence in Toll-deficient flies. Overall, our studies reveal a high level of concordance between fly and murine models of invasive aspergillosis.
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chamilos
authors.forename: Elaine M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bignell
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schrettl
authors.forename: Russell E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leventakos
authors.forename: Gregory S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: Hubertus
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: Dimitrios P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Kontoyiannis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000172:deficiency*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000172:deficiency*; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; C068721:Tl protein, Drosophila; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors; D037521:Virulence Factors