| DB ID | MyCo_5491 |
| Title | Development of a novel inhalational model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in rats and comparative evaluation of three biomarkers for its diagnosis |
| Year | 2014 |
| PMID | 24955575 |
| Fungal Diseases involved | Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis |
| Associated Medical Condition | None |
| Genus | Aspergillus |
| Species | fumigatus |
| Organism | Aspergillus fumigatus |
| Ethical Statement | Research was conducted in compliance with Institutional Animal Care Guidelines and was approved by the Faculty of Medicine Ethics Committee, Kuwait University. |
| Site of Infection | None |
| Opportunistic invasive | Invasive |
| Sample type | Body fluid |
| Sample source | Serum |
| Host Group | Animal |
| Host Common name | Mice |
| Host Scientific name | Mus musculus |
| Biomarker Name | ITS |
| Biomarker Full Name | Internal Transcribed Spacer |
| Biomarker Type | Diagnostic |
| Biomolecule | Gene |
| Geographical Location | Kuwait |
| Cohort | Female Wistar rats (18 to 25 weeks old, 180–230 g) bred and maintained in the Central Animal Facility of the Faculty of Medicine, were subjected to inhalation of A. fumigatus conidia. Inoculum of reference A. fumigatus strain (CBS 113.26) was prepared by growing the fungus on 50 ml of Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) medium (Oxoid Ltd.) in flat 275 ml Tissue Cell Culture bottles (Thermo Scientific Nunc) for 1 week at 37uC to ensure heavy growth. A total of 30 immunosuppressed rats exposed to A. fumigatus conidia were housed individually in metabolic cages and given food pellets and water ad libidum. The exposed rats were sacrificed in groups of six on different days postinfection for the collection of various specimens in a safety cabinet to avoid contamination with aerial fungal spores. No cotton or gauze derivatives were used during sacrifice and collection of specimens and every effort was made to avoid BDG contamination. Freshly autoclaved scissors, forceps and freshly-opened or autoclaved plastic ware/glassware were used. Serum samples, separated from blood obtained through cardiac puncture, were used for the detection of BDG, GM, and A. fumigatus DNA. The BAL was collected by exposing the trachea and lavaging the lung four times with one ml of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in a biological safety cabinet to ensure Aspergillus-free environment. |
| Cohort No. | 30 experimenral and 12 Control |
| Age Group | None |
| P Value | None |
| Sensitivity | None |
| Specificity | None |
| Positive Predictive Value | None |
| MIC | None |
| Fold Change | None |
| Pathway | None |
| Disease Introduction Mechanism | Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a serious infection in patients with prolonged neutropenia, transplant recipients and other severely immunocompromised patients. Aspergillus fumigatus, one of the most prevalent airborne fungal pathogen, is the principal etiological agent implicated in IPA. Proper patient management and therapeutic success depends on rapid diagnosis and early initiation of appropriate antifungal therapy. Early diagnosis of IPA remains challenging as few diagnostic tools are available and delays in diagnosis contribute to the high mortality associated with this disease. Mortality rates of IPA range from nearly 30% in some patient populations to as high as 90% in severely neutropenic patients. Conventional laboratory techniques for the diagnosis of IPA include direct microscopic examination of fungal elements in clinical specimens, lung tissue histology and culture of respiratory secretions. Direct microscopy is often negative, histological confirmation is difficult to obtain due to concomitant thrombocytopenia and culture positivity even in confirmed cases of IPA typically remains less than 50%. |
| Technique | PCR |
| Analysis Method | PCR Based |
| ELISA kits | GM-Platelia Aspergillus EIA kit (Bio-Rad) |
| Assay Data | FDA- Fungitell®, Cape Cod International, Inc.; Falmounth, MA, USA |
| Validation Techniques used | PCR |
| Up Regulation Down Regulation | Positive |
| Sequence Data | None |
| External Link | None |
