Abstract

Invasive pulmonary disease due to the moldAspergillus fumigatuscan be life-threatening in lung transplant recipients, but the risk factors remain poorly understood. To study this process, we used a tracheal allograft mouse model that recapitulates large airway changes observed in patients undergoing lung transplantation. We report that microhemorrhage-related iron content may be a major determinant ofA. fumigatusinvasion and, consequently, its virulence. Invasive growth was increased during progressive alloimmune-mediated graft rejection associated with high concentrations of ferric iron in the graft. The role of iron inA. fumigatusinvasive growth was further confirmed by showing that this invasive phenotype was increased in tracheal transplants from donor mice lacking the hemochromatosis gene (Hfe -/- ). The invasive phenotype was also increased in mouse syngrafts treated with topical iron solution and in allograft recipients receiving deferoxamine, a chelator that increases iron bioavailability to the mold. The invasive growth of the iron-intolerantA. fumigatusdouble-knockout mutant (?sreA/?cccA) was lower than that of the wild-type mold. Alloimmune-mediated microvascular damage and iron overload did not appear to impair the host's immune response. In human lung transplant recipients, positive staining for iron in lung transplant tissue was more commonly seen in endobronchial biopsy sections from transplanted airways than in biopsies from the patients' own airways. Collectively, these data identify iron as a major determinant ofA. fumigatusinvasive growth and a potential target to treat or preventA. fumigatusinfections in lung transplant patients.

View details for PubMedID 29467298