Evolution of the Immune Response to Chronic Airway Colonization with Aspergillus fumigatus Hyphae.

ABSTRACT: Airway colonization by the mold Aspergillus fumigatus is common in patients with underlying lung disease and is associated with chronic airway inflammation. Studies probing the inflammatory response to colonization with A. fumigatus hyphae have been hampered by the lack of a model of chronic colonization in immunocompetent mice. By infecting mice intratracheally with conidia embedded in agar beads (Af beads), we have established an in vivo model to study the natural history of airway colonization with live A. fumigatus hyphae. Histopathological examination and galactomannan assay of lung homogenates demonstrated that hyphae exited beads and persisted in the lungs of mice up to 28 days postinfection without invasive disease. Fungal lesions within the airways were surrounded by a robust neut

SUBMITTER: Urb M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4534667 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature