title: Assessment of Aspergillus fumigatus pathogenicity in aerosol-challenged chickens (Gallus gallus) belonging to two lineages.
abstract: Infection due to the mold Aspergillus fumigatus remains a common and life-threatening infection in many animals, especially birds. Animal models are still required to better understand the physiopathology of infection and evaluate diagnostic tools and treatment procedures. The aim of the present study was to assess the pathogenicity of A. fumigatus in two lineages of chicken (Gallus gallus): SPF White Leghorn PA12 layers and conventional JA657 broilers. Four-day-old birds were experimentally infected in an inhalation chamber in order to reproduce a "natural" contamination and to obtain a large repartition of conidia into the respiratory tract. Half of the chicks were injected subcutaneously with dexamethasone for 4 days before the infective challenge. At days 0 and 7, the effects of chicken lineage and immunosuppressive treatment on pulmonary fungal burden were analyzed using two linear mixed models. The pathogenicity of A. fumigatus varied according to the lineage: no clinical signs and no mortality were observed in layer chickens whereas more than 50% of mortality occurred in broilers. The effect of immunosuppressive treatment was also demonstrated, notably on animals weight but also on mortality.
authors.affiliation: UMR ENVA, ANSES, UPEC BIPAR, Dynamyc, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thierry
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Durand
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Melloul
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Tafani
authors.forename: Dong Ying
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Manjula
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deville
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cordonnier
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chermette
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guillot
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arné
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000276:immunology*; D002645:Chickens; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000662:veterinary; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006651:Histocytochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D055732:Pulmonary Aspergillosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011897:Random Allocation; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D003907:Dexamethasone