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. 2018 Jul-Sep;49(3):668-674.
doi: 10.1016/j.bjm.2017.10.003. Epub 2018 Feb 3.

Differential role of gpaB and sidA gene expressions in relation to virulence in Aspergillus species from patients with invasive aspergillosis

Nayereh Ghods  1 , Mehraban Falahati  2 , Maryam Roudbary  3 , Shirin Farahyar  1 , Masoud Shamaei  4 , Mahin Pourabdollah  5 , Farhad Seif  6
Affiliations

Differential role of gpaB and sidA gene expressions in relation to virulence in Aspergillus species from patients with invasive aspergillosis

Nayereh Ghods et al. Braz J Microbiol. 2018 Jul-Sep.

Abstract

The virulence genes in invasive aspergillosis (IA) have not been analyzed adequately. The present study was designed to evaluate the expression of gpaB and sidA genes, which are important virulence genes in Aspergillus spp. from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples. Direct examination and culture on Czapek Agar and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar media were performed for 600 BAL specimens isolated from patients with possible aspergillosis. A Galactomannan ELISA assay was also carried out. The expression levels of the gpaB and sidA genes in isolates were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). We identified 2 species, including Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) and Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) in 25 positive samples for invasive aspergillosis as validated using GM-ELISA. A. flavus is the main pathogen threatening transplant recipients and cancer patients worldwide. In this study, A. flavus had low levels of the gpaB gene expression compared to A. fumigatus (p=0.006). The highest sidA expression was detected in transplant recipients (p=0.05). There was no significant correlation between sidA expression and underlying disease (p=0.15). The sidA and gpaB gene expression patterns may provide evidence that these virulence genes play important roles in the pathogenicity of Aspergillus isolates; however, there are several regulatory genes responsible for the unexpressed sidA and gpaB genes in the isolates.

Keywords: A. flavus; A. fumigatus; Bronchoalveolar lavage; gpaB gene; sidA gene.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Analysis of gpaB expression levels in patients using Mann–Whitney U test. On the basis of the standard definitions, Box-plot shows median (bold line), interquartile line (box), outliers (circle), and extreme observations (star). COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ABPA, allergic bronco pulmonary aspergillosis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Analysis of sidA expression levels in patients using Mann–Whitney U test. On the basis of the standard definitions, Box-plot shows median (bold line), interquartile line (box), outliers (circle), and extreme observations (star). COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ABPA, allergic bronco pulmonary aspergillosis.
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