title: Pulmonary immune responses to Aspergillus fumigatus in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate immunologic mechanisms underlying Aspergillus fumigatus pulmonary infections in immunocompetent Dark Agouti (DA) and Albino Oxford (AO) rats recognized as being susceptible to some inflammatory diseases in different manners.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lung fungal burden (quantitative colony forming units, CFU, assay), leukocyte infiltration (histology, cell composition) and their function (phagocytosis, oxidative activity, CD11b adhesion molecule expression) and cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-17 and -4 (IL-17 and IL-4) lung content were evaluated following infection (intratracheally, 1x10(7) conidia).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Slower reduction of fungal burden was observed in AO rats in comparison with that in DA rats, which was coincided with less intense histologically evident lung cell infiltration and leukocyte recovery as well as lower level of most of the their activities including intracellular myeloperoxidase activity, the capacity of nitroblue tetrazolium salt reduction and CD11b adhesion molecule expression (except for phagocytosis of conidia) in these rats. Differential patterns of changes in proinflammatory cytokine levels (unchanged levels of IFN-γ and transient increase of IL-17 in AO rats vs continuous increase of both cytokines in DA rats) and unchanged levels of IL-4 were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genetically-based differences in the pattern of antifungal lung leukocyte activities and cytokine milieu, associated with differential efficiency of fungal elimination might be useful in the future use of rat models in studies of pulmonary aspergillosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Institute for Biological Research 'Sinisa Stankovic', University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mirkov
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Institute for Biological Research 'Sinisa Stankovic', University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Amal Atia Mhfuod
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: El-Muzghi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Institute for Biological Research 'Sinisa Stankovic', University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Djokic
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Institute for Biological Research 'Sinisa Stankovic', University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ninkov
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Institute for Biological Research 'Sinisa Stankovic', University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Popov Aleksandrov
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Physiology (Mycology Lab), Institute for Biological Research 'Sinisa Stankovic', University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Jasmina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Glamoclija
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Institute for Biological Research 'Sinisa Stankovic', University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia;Institute of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kataranovski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D055732:Pulmonary Aspergillosis / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines
keywords: A. fumigatus; Lung immune responses; Rats