FIG 8.
Catalytic activity of Sph3h is dispensable for antifungal activity in a neutropenic mouse model of pulmonary invasive aspergillosis. Shown is survival of neutropenic mice that were intratracheally infected with 5 × 106 wild-type (WT) A. fumigatus conidia coadministered with a single dose of 500 μg of Sph3h or catalytically inactive Sph3h variant (D166AAc). Kaplan-Meier curves represent 3 independent experiments with ≥4 mice per group. A significant difference in survival between both Sph3h- and D166AAc-treated groups compared with the uninfected (UI) group is indicated (*, P < 0.0065). No significant difference was found between the wild-type-infected Sph3h-treated (WT + Sph3h) and the wild-type-infected D166AAc-treated (WT + D166AAc) groups as determined by Wilcoxon rank test (P = 0.6975).