Experimental aspergillosis and phycomycosis in mice
Baisakh, K.M.; Agarwal, D.S.; Iyengar, B.; Bhatia, V.N.
Indian Journal of Medical Research 63(12): 1716-1731
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-5340 PMID: 773815 Document Number: 94509
Normal mice were resistant to experimental lung infection with Aspergillus fumigatus and Mucor hiemalis. Pretreatment and colchicine rendered them highly susceptible to lung infection and fatal pulmonary aspergillosis but moderately to mildly susceptible to lung infection and fatal pulmonary phycomycosis. The inflammatory response in the lungs of above drug treated mice exposed to aerosol of fungal spores was quantitatively estimated and correlated with mortality, histopathological changes and the viable counts of fungal spores in the lungs. Fluid exudation, leukocyte emigration, fungal spore clearance and histology at necroscopy were compared in drug treated and nontreated mice. In mice which did not show fatal infection and were killed on the 14th day after aerosol exposure to either fungus, there was no evidence of fungal proliferation, and culture of lungs did not yield any fungus. In drug treated mice there was mild to moderate tissue reaction in the lungs in the form of bronchitis and pneumonitis in all animals exposed to A. fumigatus and .apprx. 1/2 of the animals exposed to M. hiemalis; in control mice there was no evidence of tissue reaction in mice exposed to A. fumigatus, but there was moderate tissue reaction in the lungs of 1/4 of animals exposed to M. hiemalis. Thus in the drug treated mice exposed to aerosol of the 2 fungi, the onset of inflammatory reaction was delayed in comparison to controls, which presumably was responsible for late removal of fungi from their lungs and led to the establishment of infection, production of pulmonary lesions and mortality.