TY - JOUR
T1 - Invasive Aspergillus terreus morphological transitions and immunoadaptations mediating antifungal resistance
AU - Bengyella, Louis
AU - Yekwa, Elsie Laban
AU - Subhani, Muhammad Nasir
AU - Tambo, Ernest
AU - Nawaz, Kiran
AU - Hetsa, Bakoena Ashton
AU - Iftikhar, Sehrish
AU - Waikhom, Sayanika Devi
AU - Roy, Pranab
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was jointly supported by the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Trieste, Italy and the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India (DBT/TWAS PG fellowship 3240223450) and postdoctoral funding from Vaal University of Technology and the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Bengyella et al.
PY - 2017/11/7
Y1 - 2017/11/7
N2 - Background and aims: Aspergillus terreus Thom is a pathogen of public health and agricultural importance for its seamless abilities to expand its ecological niche. The aim of this study was holistically to investigate A. terreus morphological and immunoadaptations and their implication in antifungal resistance and proliferation during infection. Materials and methods: In-depth unstructured mining of relevant peer-reviewed literature was performed for A. terreus morphological, immune, resistance, and genetic diversity based on the sequenced calmodulin-like gene. Results: Accessory conidia and phialidic conidia produced by A. terreus confer discrete antifungal resistance that ensures survivability during therapies. Interestingly, by producing unique metabolites such as Asp-melanin and terretonin, A. terreus is capable of hijacking macrophages and scavenging iron, respectively. As such, A. terreus has established a rare mechanism to mitigate phagocytosis and swing the interaction dynamics in favor of its proliferation and survival in hosts. Conclusion: It is further unraveled that besides A. terreus genetic diversity, morphological, biochemical, and immunologic adaptations associated with conidia germination and discharge of chemical signals during infection enable masking of the host defense as an integral part of its strategy to survive and rapidly colonize hosts.
AB - Background and aims: Aspergillus terreus Thom is a pathogen of public health and agricultural importance for its seamless abilities to expand its ecological niche. The aim of this study was holistically to investigate A. terreus morphological and immunoadaptations and their implication in antifungal resistance and proliferation during infection. Materials and methods: In-depth unstructured mining of relevant peer-reviewed literature was performed for A. terreus morphological, immune, resistance, and genetic diversity based on the sequenced calmodulin-like gene. Results: Accessory conidia and phialidic conidia produced by A. terreus confer discrete antifungal resistance that ensures survivability during therapies. Interestingly, by producing unique metabolites such as Asp-melanin and terretonin, A. terreus is capable of hijacking macrophages and scavenging iron, respectively. As such, A. terreus has established a rare mechanism to mitigate phagocytosis and swing the interaction dynamics in favor of its proliferation and survival in hosts. Conclusion: It is further unraveled that besides A. terreus genetic diversity, morphological, biochemical, and immunologic adaptations associated with conidia germination and discharge of chemical signals during infection enable masking of the host defense as an integral part of its strategy to survive and rapidly colonize hosts.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85036497170&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85036497170&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2147/IDR.S147331
DO - 10.2147/IDR.S147331
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85036497170
SN - 1178-6973
VL - 10
SP - 425
EP - 436
JO - Infection and Drug Resistance
JF - Infection and Drug Resistance
ER -