Caenorhabditis elegans-Based Aspergillus fumigatus Infection Model for Evaluating Pathogenicity and Drug Efficacy
Aspergillus fumigatus is the most reported causative pathogen associated with the increasing global incidences of aspergilloses, with the health of immunocompromised individuals mostly at risk. Monitoring the pathogenicity of A. fumigatus strains to identify virulence factors and evaluating the effi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00320/full |
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| author | Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule Qijian Qin Arome Solomon Odiba Arome Solomon Odiba Siqiao Li Anene N. Moneke James C. Ogbonna Cheng Jin Cheng Jin Bin Wang Bin Wang Wenxia Fang Wenxia Fang |
| author_facet | Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule Qijian Qin Arome Solomon Odiba Arome Solomon Odiba Siqiao Li Anene N. Moneke James C. Ogbonna Cheng Jin Cheng Jin Bin Wang Bin Wang Wenxia Fang Wenxia Fang |
| author_sort | Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aspergillus fumigatus is the most reported causative pathogen associated with the increasing global incidences of aspergilloses, with the health of immunocompromised individuals mostly at risk. Monitoring the pathogenicity of A. fumigatus strains to identify virulence factors and evaluating the efficacy of potent active agents against this fungus in animal models are indispensable in current research effort. Caenorhabditis elegans has been successfully utilized as an infection model for bacterial and dimorphic fungal pathogens because of the advantages of being time-efficient, and less costly. However, application of this model to the filamentous fungus A. fumigatus is less investigated. In this study, we developed and optimized a stable and reliable C. elegans model for A. fumigatus infection, and demonstrated the infection process with a fluorescent strain. Virulence results of several mutant strains in our nematode model demonstrated high consistency with the already reported pathogenicity pattern in other models. Furthermore, this C. elegans-A. fumigatus infection model was optimized for evaluating the efficacy of current antifungal drugs. Interestingly, the azole drugs in nematode model prevented conidial germination to a higher extent than amphotericin B. Overall, our established C. elegans infection model for A. fumigatus has potential applications in pathogenicity evaluation, antifungal agents screening, drug efficacy evaluation as well as host-pathogen interaction studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T17:29:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5a6f8346501d4a24bb70e6a6ff6d85a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2235-2988 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T17:29:07Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a6f8346501d4a24bb70e6a6ff6d85a12022-12-22T00:17:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology2235-29882020-06-011010.3389/fcimb.2020.00320545781Caenorhabditis elegans-Based Aspergillus fumigatus Infection Model for Evaluating Pathogenicity and Drug EfficacyChukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule0Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule1Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule2Qijian Qin3Arome Solomon Odiba4Arome Solomon Odiba5Siqiao Li6Anene N. Moneke7James C. Ogbonna8Cheng Jin9Cheng Jin10Bin Wang11Bin Wang12Wenxia Fang13Wenxia Fang14National Engineering Research Center for Non-food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, ChinaCollege of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, ChinaDepartment of Microbiology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, NigeriaNational Engineering Research Center for Non-food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center for Non-food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, ChinaCollege of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Non-food Biomass and Enzyme Technology, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, ChinaDepartment of Microbiology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, NigeriaDepartment of Microbiology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, NigeriaNational Engineering Research Center for Non-food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, ChinaCollege of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center for Non-food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Non-food Biomass and Enzyme Technology, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center for Non-food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Non-food Biomass and Enzyme Technology, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, ChinaAspergillus fumigatus is the most reported causative pathogen associated with the increasing global incidences of aspergilloses, with the health of immunocompromised individuals mostly at risk. Monitoring the pathogenicity of A. fumigatus strains to identify virulence factors and evaluating the efficacy of potent active agents against this fungus in animal models are indispensable in current research effort. Caenorhabditis elegans has been successfully utilized as an infection model for bacterial and dimorphic fungal pathogens because of the advantages of being time-efficient, and less costly. However, application of this model to the filamentous fungus A. fumigatus is less investigated. In this study, we developed and optimized a stable and reliable C. elegans model for A. fumigatus infection, and demonstrated the infection process with a fluorescent strain. Virulence results of several mutant strains in our nematode model demonstrated high consistency with the already reported pathogenicity pattern in other models. Furthermore, this C. elegans-A. fumigatus infection model was optimized for evaluating the efficacy of current antifungal drugs. Interestingly, the azole drugs in nematode model prevented conidial germination to a higher extent than amphotericin B. Overall, our established C. elegans infection model for A. fumigatus has potential applications in pathogenicity evaluation, antifungal agents screening, drug efficacy evaluation as well as host-pathogen interaction studies.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00320/fullCaenorhabditis elegansAspergillus fumigatusinfection modelhyphal filamentationpathogenicity |
| spellingShingle | Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule Qijian Qin Arome Solomon Odiba Arome Solomon Odiba Siqiao Li Anene N. Moneke James C. Ogbonna Cheng Jin Cheng Jin Bin Wang Bin Wang Wenxia Fang Wenxia Fang Caenorhabditis elegans-Based Aspergillus fumigatus Infection Model for Evaluating Pathogenicity and Drug Efficacy Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology Caenorhabditis elegans Aspergillus fumigatus infection model hyphal filamentation pathogenicity |
| title | Caenorhabditis elegans-Based Aspergillus fumigatus Infection Model for Evaluating Pathogenicity and Drug Efficacy |
| title_full | Caenorhabditis elegans-Based Aspergillus fumigatus Infection Model for Evaluating Pathogenicity and Drug Efficacy |
| title_fullStr | Caenorhabditis elegans-Based Aspergillus fumigatus Infection Model for Evaluating Pathogenicity and Drug Efficacy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Caenorhabditis elegans-Based Aspergillus fumigatus Infection Model for Evaluating Pathogenicity and Drug Efficacy |
| title_short | Caenorhabditis elegans-Based Aspergillus fumigatus Infection Model for Evaluating Pathogenicity and Drug Efficacy |
| title_sort | caenorhabditis elegans based aspergillus fumigatus infection model for evaluating pathogenicity and drug efficacy |
| topic | Caenorhabditis elegans Aspergillus fumigatus infection model hyphal filamentation pathogenicity |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00320/full |
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