Figure 11. Uge3 is required for full virulence in a highly immunosuppressed mouse model of IA.

(A) Survival of highly immunosuppressed mice treated with cyclophosphamide and cortisone acetate and infected with the indicated A. fumigatus strains. * indicates significantly increased survival of mice infected with the Δuge3 mutant as compared with those infected with the wild-type, p = 0.002 by the log rank test (n = 12 mice per fungal strain). (B) Quantification of fungal DNA in lung homogenates of mice after 5 days of infection. Results are median ± interquartile range of 8 mice per strain. * indicates a significantly reduced fungal DNA content in lungs of mice infected with the Δuge3 mutant as compared with those infected with the wild-type strain, p = 0.11 by the Wilcoxon rank sum test. (C) Photomicrographs of Gomori menthenamine silver stained sections of mouse lungs obtained 4 days after infection with the wild-type strain Af293. No fungal lesions could be identified in the lungs of mice infected with the Δuge3 mutant strain. Magnification was ×100 and ×400. White arrows indicate hyphae. Note the lack of infiltrating leukocytes within fungal lesions.