Current Research in Microbial Sciences 6 (2024) 100220
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Current Research in Microbial Sciences
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Accelerating the understanding of Aspergillus terreus: Epidemiology,
physiology, immunology and advances
Raman Thakur a, 1, *, Sonia Kumari Shishodia b, 1, Ananya Sharma c, Arjun Chauhan d,
Sumanpreet Kaur a, Jata Shankar c, *
a
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
b
University Institute of Biotechnology, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India
c
Genomic Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India
d
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Applied Sciences and Humanities, GLA University, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: Aspergillus species encompass a variety of infections, ranging from invasive aspergillosis to allergic conditions,
Aspergillus terreus contingent upon the immune status of the host. In this spectrum, Aspergillus terreus stands out due to its emer
Aspergilli gence as a notable pathogen and its intrinsic resistance to amphotericin-B. The significance of Aspergillus-asso
Epidemiology
ciated infections has witnessed a marked increase in the past few decades, particularly with the increasing
Germination
Cytokines
number of immunocompromised individuals. The exploration of epidemiology, morphological transitions,
Antifungal phytochemicals immunopathology, and novel treatment approaches such as new antifungal drugs (PC945, olorofim) and
Echinocandins (PC945, PC1244) combinational therapy using antifungal drugs and phytochemicals (Phytochemicals: quercetin, shikonin, arte
Immune response misinin), also using immunotherapies to modulate immune response has resulted in better outcomes. Further
PRRs more, in the context COVID-19 era and its aftermath, fungal infections have emerged as a substantial challenge
PAMPs for both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. This is attributed to the use of immune-
suppressing therapies during COVID-19 infections and the increase in transplant cases. Consequently, this re
view aims to provide an updated overview encompassing the epidemiology, germination events, immunopa
thology, and novel drug treatment strategies against Aspergillus terreus-associated infections.
1. Introduction suppression (Bongomin and Gago, 2017). The global burden of Asper
gillus-associated infections has been further exacerbated by the emer
In the past few decades, a notable surge in fungal infections world- gence of drug-resistant strains within Aspergillus species, Recent global
wide has been observed (Bongomin and Gago, 2017). Among the estimates have found 3,000,000 cases of chronic pulmonary aspergil
array of fungal pathogens, infections caused by Aspergillus species have losis and ~250,000 cases of invasive aspergillosis (Bongomin and Gago,
earned significant attention, affecting not only humans but also animals 2017; Fisher and Hawkins, 2018). Additionally, the absence of early
and birds (Elad and Segal, 2018). Aspergillus infections give rise to a diagnostic indicators for Aspergilli terreus infections poses a great risk to
spectrum of health complications, ranging from acute bronchopulmo susceptible individuals. Moreover, in COVID-19 era fungal infections
nary aspergillosis to allergic sinusitis and IgE-associated asthma have gain attentions. Aspergillosis emerged as one of the co-infections
(Thompson and Young, 2021). Fungi belonging to Aspergillus genus associated with COVID-19 along with mucormycosis (Song and Liang,
including Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, and A. terreus, represent some 2020). Therefore, it is imperative to give attention to emerging fungal
of the most important spore-bearing fungi that cause severe infections in pathogens which may affect immunocompromised as well as immuno
individuals with compromised immune systems, and certain immuno competent individuals.
competent individuals (Sugui et al., 2014; Escobar et al., 2016). This Recently, A. terreus has been recognized as a major factor in the
susceptibility has increased due to factors such as augmented trans development of invasive aspergillosis in critically immunocompromised
plantation cases, cancer occurrences, and disorders leading to immune patients, particularly those with cancer (Hachem et al., 2014; Zoran
* Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: ramanthakurnegwal@[Link] (R. Thakur), [Link]@[Link] (J. Shankar).
1
Joint first author.
[Link]
Available online 11 January 2024
2666-5174/© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ([Link]
nc-nd/4.0/).