Publication Database

The domestic pig as human‐relevant large animal model to study adaptive anti‐fungal immune responses against airborne Aspergillus fumigatus (2020)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Schmidt, Stefanie (WE 6)

Ebner, Friederike (WE 6)

Rosen, Kerstin (WE 10)

Kniemeyer, Olaf

Brakhage, Axel A.

Löffler, Jürgen

Seif, Michelle

Springer, Jan

Schlosser, Josephine (WE 6)

Scharek-Tedin, Lydia (WE 6)

Scheffold, Alexander

Bacher, Petra

Kühl, Anja A.

Rösler, Uwe (WE 10)

Hartmann, Susanne (WE 6)

Quelle

European journal of immunology : basic, clinical, translational

Bandzählung: 50

Heftzählung: 11

Seiten: 1712 – 1728

ISSN: 1521-4141

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eji.201948524

DOI: 10.1002/eji.201948524

Pubmed: 32558930

Kontakt

Institut für Tier- und Umwelthygiene

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
14169 Berlin
+49 30 838 51845
tierhygiene@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

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 106 cfu/m3 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 anti‐fungal T cell responses more than two 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.