TY  - JOUR
A1  - Sánchez-Maldonado, Jose Manuel
A1  - Moñiz-Díez, Ana
A1  - ter Horst, Rob
A1  - Campa, Daniele
A1  - Cabrera-Serrano, Antonio José
A1  - Martínez-Bueno, Manuel
A1  - Garrido-Collado, María del Pilar
A1  - Hernández-Mohedo, Francisca
A1  - Fernández-Puerta, Laura
A1  - López-Nevot, Miguel Ángel
A1  - Cunha, Cristina
A1  - González-Sierra, Pedro Antonio
A1  - Springer, Jan
A1  - Lackner, Michaela
A1  - Alcazar-Fuoli, Laura
A1  - Fianchi, Luana
A1  - Aguado, José María
A1  - Pagano, Livio
A1  - López-Fernández, Elisa
A1  - Clavero, Esther
A1  - Potenza, Leonardo
A1  - Luppi, Mario
A1  - Moratalla, Lucia
A1  - Solano, Carlos
A1  - Sampedro, Antonio
A1  - Cuenca-Estrella, Manuel
A1  - Lass-Flörl, Cornelia
A1  - Canzian, Federico
A1  - Loeffler, Juergen
A1  - Li, Yang
A1  - Einsele, Hermann
A1  - Netea, Mihai G.
A1  - Vázquez, Lourdes
A1  - Carvalho, Agostinho
A1  - Jurado, Manuel
A1  - Sainz, Juan
T1  - Polymorphisms within the TNFSF4 and MAPKAPK2 loci influence the risk of developing invasive aspergillosis: a two-stage case control study in the context of the aspBIOmics consortium
JF  - Journal of Fungi
N2  - Here, we assessed whether 36 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the TNFSF4 and MAPKAPK2 loci influence the risk of developing invasive aspergillosis (IA). We conducted a two-stage case control study including 911 high-risk patients diagnosed with hematological malignancies that were ascertained through the aspBIOmics consortium. The meta-analysis of the discovery and replication populations revealed that carriers of the TNFSF4\(_{rs7526628T/T}\) genotype had a significantly increased risk of developing IA (p = 0.00022). We also found that carriers of the TNFSF4\(_{rs7526628T}\) allele showed decreased serum levels of TNFSF14 protein (p = 0.0027), and that their macrophages had a decreased fungicidal activity (p = 0.048). In addition, we observed that each copy of the MAPKAPK2\(_{rs12137965G}\) allele increased the risk of IA by 60% (p = 0.0017), whereas each copy of the MAPKAPK2\(_{rs17013271T}\) allele was estimated to decrease the risk of developing the disease (p = 0.0029). Mechanistically, we found that carriers of the risk MAPKAPK2\(_{rs12137965G}\) allele showed increased numbers of CD38+IgM-IgD- plasmablasts in blood (p = 0.00086), whereas those harboring two copies of the allele had decreased serum concentrations of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (p = 0.00097). Finally, we also found that carriers of the protective MAPKAPK2\(_{rs17013271T}\) allele had decreased numbers of CD27-IgM-IgD- B cells (p = 0.00087) and significantly lower numbers of CD14+ and CD14+CD16- cells (p = 0.00018 and 0.00023). Altogether, these results suggest a role of the TNFSF4 and MAPKAPK2 genes in determining IA risk.
KW  - invasive aspergillosis
KW  - TNFSF4
KW  - MAPKAPK2
KW  - genetic susceptibility
KW  - B cells
KW  - monocytes
KW  - serum biomarkers
KW  - TSLP
KW  - TNFSF14
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-220107
SN  - 2309-608X
VL  - 7
IS  - 1
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Carvalho-Pereira, Joana
A1  - Fernandes, Filipa
A1  - Araújo, Ricardo
A1  - Springer, Jan
A1  - Loeffler, Juergen
A1  - Buitrago, María José
A1  - Pais, Célia
A1  - Sampaio, Paula
T1  - Multiplex PCR based strategy for detection of fungal pathogen DNA in patients with suspected invasive fungal infections
JF  - Journal of Fungi
N2  - A new and easy polymerase chain reaction (PCR) multiplex strategy, for the identification of the most common fungal species involved in invasive fungal infections (IFI) was developed in this work. Two panels with species-specific markers were designed, the Candida Panel for the identification of Candida species, and the Filamentous Fungi Panel for the identification of Aspergillus species and Rhizopusarrhizus. The method allowed the correct identification of all targeted pathogens using extracted DNA or by colony PCR, showed no cross-reactivity with nontargeted species and allowed identification of different species in mixed infections. Sensitivity reached 10 to 1 pg of DNA and was suitable for clinical samples from sterile sites, with a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 100%. Overall, the study showed that the new method is suitable for the identification of the ten most important fungal species involved in IFI, not only from positive blood cultures but also from clinical samples from sterile sites. The method provides a unique characteristic, of seeing the peak in the specific region of the panel with the correct fluorescence dye, that aids the ruling out of unspecific amplifications. Furthermore, the panels can be further customized, selecting markers for different species and/or resistance genes.
KW  - molecular diagnosis
KW  - fungal infections
KW  - multiplex PCR
KW  - Candida sp.
KW  - Aspergillus sp.
KW  - Rhizopus arrhizus
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-219392
SN  - 2309-608X
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schmidt, Stefanie
A1  - Ebner, Friederike
A1  - Rosen, Kerstin
A1  - Kniemeyer, Olaf
A1  - Brakhage, Axel A.
A1  - Löffler, Jürgen
A1  - Seif, Michelle
A1  - Springer, Jan
A1  - Schlosser, Josephine
A1  - Scharek‐Tedin, Lydia
A1  - Scheffold, Alexander
A1  - Bacher, Petra
A1  - Kühl, Anja A.
A1  - Rösler, Uwe
A1  - Hartmann, Susanne
T1  - The domestic pig as human‐relevant large animal model to study adaptive antifungal immune responses against airborne Aspergillus fumigatus
JF  - European Journal of Immunology
N2  - Pulmonary mucosal immune response is critical for preventing opportunistic Aspergillus fumigatus infections. Although fungus‐specific CD4\(^{+}\) T cells in blood are described to reflect the actual host–pathogen interaction status, little is known about Aspergillus‐specific pulmonary T‐cell responses. Here, we exploit the domestic pig as human‐relevant large animal model and introduce antigen‐specific T‐cell enrichment in pigs to address Aspergillus‐specific T cells in the lung compared to peripheral blood. In healthy, environmentally Aspergillus‐exposed pigs, the fungus‐specific T cells are detectable in blood in similar frequencies as observed in healthy humans and exhibit a Th1 phenotype. Exposing pigs to 10\(^{6}\) cfu/m\(^{3}\) conidia induces a long‐lasting accumulation of Aspergillus‐specific Th1 cells locally in the lung and also systemically. Temporary immunosuppression during Aspergillus‐exposure showed a drastic reduction in the lung‐infiltrating antifungal T‐cell responses more than 2 weeks after abrogation of the suppressive treatment. This was reflected in blood, but to a much lesser extent. In conclusion, by using the human‐relevant large animal model the pig, this study highlights that the blood clearly reflects the mucosal fungal‐specific T‐cell reactivity in environmentally exposed as well as experimentally exposed healthy pigs. But, immunosuppression significantly impacts the mucosal site in contrast to the initial systemic immune response.
KW  - fungal aerosolization
KW  - porcine large animal model
KW  - pulmonary immune response
KW  - T cells
KW  - Aspergillus fumigatus
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-216085
VL  - 50
IS  - 11
SP  - 1712
EP  - 1728
ER  -