Aspergillus Terreus

With antifungal drug discovery being a hot topic in recent years, many biotechnology companies are devoted to exploiting more antifungal drugs for the treatment of fungus infections. As a pioneer company in this area, Creative Biolabs provides a full range of drug discovery services against multiple fungi for global customers, including Aspergillus Terreus (A. Terreus).

Introduction of A. Terreus

A. Terreus is a saprotrophic fungus residing in soil that belongs to the Aspergillus section Terrei. It is a common soil saprophyte that has been recovered from desert soil, grasslands, and compost heaps, as well as contaminants of stored corn, barley, and peanuts. It has been reported that A. Terreus could cause numerous infections ranging from superficial infections, such as onychomycosis, to invasive aspergillosis (IA) in severely immunocompromised hosts. What’s more, previous studies have demonstrated that A. Terreus is often associated with disseminated infection, resulting in higher patient mortality in comparison to other Aspergillus spp. However, little is known about the pathogenesis of infections due to A. terreus.

Fig.1 Amphotericin B: Mode of action on A. terreus. (Lass-Flörl, 2018)

Pathogenesis of A. Terreus

Unlike other Aspergillus species causing opportunistic infections in animals and humans commonly, infections caused by A. terreus is increasing more rapidly and has been considered an emerging agent of infection. As an opportunistic pathogen, it is able to cause both systemic and superficial infections. Inhalation of fungal spores, which travel down along the respiratory tract, cause the typical respiratory infection. Moreover, other infections could also occur, including onychomycosis and otomycosis. Specially, A. terreus could also cause serious infections in immunocompromised patients who lack specific immune cells. For example, prolonged neutropenia predisposes humans and anilams to this fungal disease.

Antifungal Drugs against A. Terreus

During the past years, multiple antifungal drugs have been developed for the treatment of fungi infections. However, numerous studies have demonstrated that most members of A. Terreus have decreased susceptibility to the antifungal drug amphotericin B (AMB) both in vitro and in vivo. Thus, there is an urgent need to discover more antifungal drugs for the treatment of A. Terreus infection.

Features of our Services

With the help of top technology and professional scientists, Creative Biolabs is committed to discovery more effective antifungal drugs to accelerate the development of every customer’s programs. We are happy to share our abundant experience with global clients. Besides, to meet the novel drug discovery goals, we provide a comprehensive service package, which including but not limited to target identification and validation, hit identification, and hit to lead. Moreover, the services we provide are characterized by:

• Abundant experience in target screening and exploiting
• Professional technical team and optimal data interpretation
• Various assay formats (both standard and customized)

In addition to A. Terreus, we also provide antifungal drug discovery services against other pathogens that can also cause human infections, which includes but not limited to A. Fumigates, A. Flavus, A. Niger and A. Nidulans. For more detailed information, please feel free to contact us.

Reference

1. Lass-Flörl, C. Treatment of Infections Due to Aspergillus terreus Species Complex. Journal of Fungi. 2018, 4(3):83.

For Research Use Only.