G alleria mellonella in vitro model for chromoblastomycosis shows large differences in virulence between isolates
Dongmei Shi,
Zhiya Yang,
Wanqing Liao,
Chen Liu,
Liang Zhao,
Huilin Su,
Xiaodong Wang,
Huan Mei,
Min Chen,
Yinggai Song,
Sybren de Hoog,
Shuwen Deng
Affiliations
Dongmei Shi
Department of Dermatology & Laboratory of Medical Mycology, Jining No. 1 People’s Hospital
Zhiya Yang
The Laboratory of Medical Mycology, Jining No. 1 People’s Hospital
Wanqing Liao
Department of Dermatology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Medical Mycology, Changzheng Hospital
Chen Liu
The Laboratory of Medical Mycology, Jining No. 1 People’s Hospital
Liang Zhao
Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education of Guizhou & Guizhou Talent Base for Microbiology and Human Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University
Huilin Su
Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University
Xiaodong Wang
Department of Dermatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University
Huan Mei
Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science
Min Chen
Department of Dermatology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Medical Mycology, Changzheng Hospital
Yinggai Song
Department of Dermatology and Venereology, First Hospital in Peking University
Sybren de Hoog
Center of Expertise in Mycology of Radboud University Medical Center, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital
Shuwen Deng
Department of Medical Microbiology, The People’s Hospital of Suzhou New District
Abstract Background Chromoblastomycosis is the World Health Organization (WHO)-recognized fungal implantation disease that eventually leads to severe mutilation. Cladophialophora carrionii (C. carrionii) is one of the agents. However, the pathogenesis of C. carrionii is not fully investigated yet. Methods We investigated the pathogenic potential of the fungus in a Galleria mellonella (G. mellonella) larvae infection model. Six strains of C. carrionii, and three of its environmental relative C. yegresii were tested. The G. mellonella model was also applied to determine antifungal efficacy of amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, and terbinafine. Results All strains were able to infect the larvae, but virulence potentials were strain-specific and showed no correlation with clinical background of the respective isolate. Survival of larvae also varied with infection dose, and with growth speed and melanization of the fungus. Posaconazole and voriconazole exhibited best activity against Cladophialophora, followed by itraconazole and terbinafine, while limited efficacy was seen for amphotericin B. Conclusion Infection behavior deviates significantly between strains. In vitro antifungal susceptibility of tested strains only partly explained the limited treatment efficacy in vivo.
