Figure 11. Representative histopathology of CD-1 mouse model infected with A. fumigatus wild-type and ΔtmpL mutants.
Mock = 0.01% Tween inoculated, CEA10 = WT, ΔtmpL = A. fumigatus ΔtmpL mutant. Mice were inoculated with 1×105 conidia intranasally, euthanized on days +2 and +4 after inoculation, lungs removed, fixed in formaldehyde, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) or Gommori's methenamine silver (GMS) stain. On day +2, AfΔtmpL mice generally displayed less necrotic lesions and less fungal burden as the wild-type. Significant inflammation, necrosis, and an influx of immune effector cells (primarily neutrophils) were observed on day +4 in all infected animals but not the mock control. However, lesions are more localized and not as extensive and we clearly observed more open alveoli in mice infected with the AfΔtmpL strain. Interestingly, GMS staining revealed that fungal growth is less extensive in the AfΔtmpL strain as well. Bar = 500 µm at 40× magnification.