Wong, Sarah Sze Wah, Venugopalan, Lakshmi Prabha, Beaussart, Audrey, Karnam, Anupama, Mohammed, Mohammed Razeeth Shait, Jayapal, Jeya Maheshwari, Bretagne, Stéphane, Bayry, Jagadeesh, Prajna, Lalitha, Kuppamuthu, Dharmalingam, Latgé, Jean-Paul, Aimanianda, Vishukumar, Mycologie moléculaire - Molecular Mycology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pasteur [Paris], Aspergillus, Institut Pasteur [Paris], Aravind Medical Research Foundation (AMRF), Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Terre et Environnement de Lorraine (OTELo), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers (CRC (UMR_S_1138 / U1138)), École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université de Paris (UP), This work, including a postdoctoral fellowship to SW and a project assistantship to LV, was supported by the Centre Franco-Indien pour la Promotion de la Recherche Avancée (CEFIPRA) grant No. 5403-1. VA was also supported by ANR-FUNHYDRO (ANR-16S-CE110020-01) grant., ANR-16-CE11-0020,FUNHYDRO,Amyloïdes fonctionnels formés par les hydrophobines du pathogène fongique Aspergillus fumigatus(2016), HAL-SU, Gestionnaire, Amyloïdes fonctionnels formés par les hydrophobines du pathogène fongique Aspergillus fumigatus - - FUNHYDRO2016 - ANR-16-CE11-0020 - AAPG2016 - VALID, Institut Pasteur [Paris] (IP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut Pasteur [Paris] (IP), Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Terre et Environnement de Lorraine (OTELo), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), and École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE)
International audience; Although belong to the same genus, Aspergillus fumigatus is primarily involved in invasive pulmonary infection, whereas Aspergillus flavus is a common cause of superficial infection. In this study, we compared conidia (the infective propagules) of these two Aspergillus species. In immunocompetent mice, intranasal inoculation with conidia of A. flavus resulted in significantly higher inflammatory responses in the lungs compared to mice inoculated with A. fumigatus conidia. In vitro assays revealed that the dormant conidia of A. flavus, unlike A. fumigatus dormant conidia, are immunostimulatory. The conidial surface of A. fumigatus was covered by a rodlet-layer, while that of A. flavus were presented with exposed polysaccharides. A. flavus harbored significantly higher number of proteins in its conidial cell wall compared to A. fumigatus conidia. Notably, β-1,3-glucan in the A. flavus conidial cell-wall showed significantly higher percentage of branching compared to that of A. fumigatus. The polysaccharides ensemble of A. flavus conidial cell wall stimulated the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, and conidial cell wall associated proteins specifically stimulated IL-8 secretion from the host immune cells. Furthermore, the two species exhibited different sensitivities to antifungal drugs targeting cell wall polysaccharides, proposing the efficacy of species-specific treatment strategies. Overall, the species-specific organization of the conidial cell wall could be important in establishing infection by the two Aspergillus species.