Antifungal Activity of Antimicrobial Peptides and Proteins against Aspergillus fumigatus .

Antimicrobial peptides and proteins (AMPs) provide an important line of defence against invading microorganisms. However, the activity of AMPs against the human fungal pathogenAspergillus fumigatusremains poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterise the anti-Aspergillusactivity of specific human AMPs, and to determine whetherA. fumigatuscan possess resistance to specific AMPs, as a result of in-host adaptation. AMPs were tested against a wide range of clinical isolates of various origins (including cystic fibrosis patients, as well as patients with chronic and acute aspergillosis). We also tested a series of isogenicA. fumigatusisolates obtained from a single patient over a period of 2 years. A range of environmental isolates, obtained from soil in Scotland, was also included. Firstly, the activity of specific peptides was assessed against hyphae using a measure of fungal metabolic activity. Secondly, the activity of specific peptides was assessed against germinating conidia, using imaging flow cytometry as a measure of hyphal growth. We showed that lysozyme and histones inhibited hyphal metabolic activity in all theA. fumigatusisolates tested in a dose-dependent fashion. In addition, imaging flow cytometry revealed that histones, beta-defensin-1 and lactoferrin inhibited the germination ofA. fumigatusconidia.