BallouLab
Today I'm delighted to share #mucormycosis #bioimaging work from Doctors @AlyssaHudson83 and Dora Corzo León (aka @forestcita), just published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases and funded by Noah's Pink Balloon Leukaemia Fund @NoahsPinkB https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae375/7731263
Overall, we hope this work demonstrates that a Mucorales-specific biomarker can be used to identify invasive #mucormycosis. Long term, we hope that this work will support efforts to improve patient outcomes for this devestating invasive #fungal disease. 12/
Second, @AlyssaHudson83 showed that the TG11 antibody binds similarly to a wide range of important clinical isolates of #mucormycosis including #Rhizopus, #Lichtheimia, #Cunninghamella, and #Mucor species 10/ https://bit.ly/4eG3lyz
Together with the talented biophysicist Iana Kalinina, @AlyssaHudson83 also captured binding of the TG11 antibody to growing #Rhizopus arrhizus spores live in a #microfluidics chamber. #mucormycosis 9/ https://bit.ly/4eG3lyz
Diagnosis of #mucormycosis is frequently based on radiography, CT, biopsy and histology, as in this 2023 clinical report from Choudhary et al., (https://rdcu.be/dWYmW) showing Periodic Acid Schiff staining of aseptate hyphae that can be challenging to accurately identify. 5/
First, @AlyssaHudson83 observed the localisation of the TG11 antibody on germiating spores of Rhizopus arrhizus, one of the most common causes of #mucormycosis. The antibody did not bind inert spores, but did bind strongly to growing hyphae. 8/ https://bit.ly/4eG3lyz
Finally, Dora Corzo-León @forestcita showed that the TG11 antibody can be used to differentiate #mucormycosis from #aspergillosis in a murine model of invasive tissue infection. 11/ https://bit.ly/4eG3lyz
So, @AlyssaHudson83 and @forestcita set out to address two remaining challenges to accurate diagnosis of #mucormycosis: 1) simplifying differentiation of mucorales from other invasive fungi in histology and 2) differentiating contaminating spores from actively growing fungi. 7/
#Mucormycosis must be differentiated from other invasive fungi for accurate and agressive treatment: high-dose liposomal amphotericin B with isavuconazole and posaconazole as well as surgical removal of the affected tissue. 4/ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099%2819%2930312-3/fulltext
#Mucormycosis is caused by a large group of Mucoralean basal fungi. They diverged from the better studied Dikaryotic fungal pathogens more than 800 million years ago and have unique properties, but are widely present as spores in the environment. 3/ https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/15/4/evad046/7079964
