title: Animal models of invasive aspergillosis for drug discovery.
abstract: Although Aspergillus infections pose a growing threat to immunocompromised individuals, the limited range of existing drugs does not allow efficient management of invasive aspergillosis. Moreover, drug resistance is becoming increasingly common. Given that drug discovery relies on high-quality animal studies, careful design of in vivo models for invasive aspergillosis could facilitate the identification of novel antifungals. In this review, we discuss key aspects of animal models for invasive aspergillosis, covering laboratory animal species, immune modulation, inoculation routes, Aspergillus strains, treatment strategies and efficacy assessment, to enable the reader to tailor specific protocols for different types of preclinical antifungal evaluation study.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paulussen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gaëlle A V
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Boulet
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cos
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delputte
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: louis.maes@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: Louis J R M
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Maes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015195:Drug Design; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents