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Observation of a Bone Invasion Model of Aspergillus fumigatus In Vitro and Analysis of the Antifungal Susceptibility

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Abstract

Background

Recently, the prevalence of invasive fungal infections has been on the rise, and one of the prevalent symptoms frequently observed is bone deterioration and bone loss.

Materials and Methods

Using an in vitro model we studied how Aspergillus fumigatus invades the bone. Pathological analysis was then employed to observe the structure and distinctive features of the invading fungal elements within the bone invasion model. Meanwhile, the antifungal effects of itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, and amphotericin B were evaluated.

Results

The pathological findings showed that in the experimental group, fungal spores and hyphae invaded the bone tissue or were observed growing in the vicinity of the bone edge tissues, as indicated by both HE and PAS staining. In contrast, no fungal elements were observed in the control group, indicating that the in vitro bone invasion model of A. fumigatus was successfully constructed. Furthermore, the findings from the antifungal sensitivity test demonstrated that the lowest effective concentrations of antifungal drugs against the bone invasion model were as follows: 4 μg/ml for itraconazole, 0.5 μg/ml for voriconazole, 2 μg/ml for posaconazole, and 2 μg/ml for amphotericin B.

Discussion

The successful construction of the bone invasion model of A. fumigatus has provided a solid basis for future investigations into the mechanisms underlying A. fumigatus bone invasion and the study of its virulence factors. Utilizing bone models is of utmost importance in advancing the development of novel antifungal treatment approaches, as well as in effectively preventing and treating fungal bone invasion and osteolytic diseases.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Key R&D Project of Hubei Province (Health Field) [2022BCE022], the Scientific Research Project of Hubei Provincial Commission of Health [WJ2021M261] and the Scientific research project of Jingzhou Science and Technology Bureau [2023HC43].

Author information

Author notes

  1. Yan Shao and Min Shen have equally contributed to this work and share first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedics, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei, China

    Yan Shao

  2. Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei, China

    Min Shen, Dan Peng, Wenxu Cheng & Chenggang Mao

  3. Department of Dermatology, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434020, Hubei, China

    Heng Zhang & Yi Sun

Authors
  1. Yan Shao
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  2. Min Shen
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  3. Dan Peng
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  4. Wenxu Cheng
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  5. Chenggang Mao
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  6. Heng Zhang
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  7. Yi Sun
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Contributions

YS (Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing), MS (Formal analysis, Visualization, Supervision, Specimen acquisition Writing—review & editing), DP (Specimen acquisition), WC (Specimen acquisition), CM (Specimen acquisition), HZ (Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis), YS (Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Writing—review & editing).

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yi Sun.

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Conflict of interest

We declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

The experiment adhered to the principles of Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and diligently complied with applicable laws and regulations.The clinical research was conducted in accordance with the approved research plan (Approval No. 2023-016-01) endorsed by the Ethics Committee of Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, with the primary aim of safeguarding the health and rights of the study participants.

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Shao, Y., Shen, M., Peng, D. et al. Observation of a Bone Invasion Model of Aspergillus fumigatus In Vitro and Analysis of the Antifungal Susceptibility. Mycopathologia 189, 4 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-023-00817-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-023-00817-y

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