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Updated: Apr 9, 2026
Histological Quantification to Determine Lung Fungal Burden in Experimental Aspergillosis
Published on: March 9, 2018
Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Specific Novel Tetrapeptide and Potential Anti-Inflammatory Metabolites in Pathogenic
Kim-Chung Lee1, Emily W T Tam2, Ka-Ching Lo3
1Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. lee1983@hku.hk.
Abstract:
Infections related to Aspergillus species have emerged to become an important focus in infectious diseases, as a result of the increasing use of immunosuppressive agents and high fatality associated with invasive aspergillosis. However, laboratory diagnosis of Aspergillus infections remains difficult. In this study, by comparing the metabolomic profiles of the culture supernatants of 30 strains of six pathogenic Aspergillus species (A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus, A. nomius and A. tamarii) and 31 strains of 10 non-Aspergillus fungi, eight compounds present in all strains of the six Aspergillus species but not in any strain of the non-Aspergillus fungi were observed. One of the eight compounds, Leu-Glu-Leu-Glu, is a novel tetrapeptide and represents the first linear tetrapeptide observed in Aspergillus species, which we propose to be named aspergitide. Two other closely related Aspergillus-specific compounds, hydroxy-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid and (sulfooxy)benzoic acid, may possess anti-inflammatory properties, as 2-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid possesses a structure similar to those of aspirin [2-(acetoxy)benzoic acid] and salicylic acid (2-hydroxybenzoic acid). Further studies to examine the potentials of these Aspergillus-specific compounds for laboratory diagnosis of aspergillosis are warranted and further experiments will reveal whether Leu-Glu-Leu-Glu, hydroxy-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid and (sulfooxy)benzoic acid are virulent factors of the pathogenic Aspergillus species.
Insights
Researchers identified eight unique compounds in Aspergillus fungi, including a novel tetrapeptide named aspergitide. These Aspergillus-specific compounds show potential for improving laboratory diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis.
Area of Science:
- Medical Mycology
- Metabolomics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Invasive aspergillosis presents a significant challenge in infectious disease diagnosis due to increasing immunosuppression and high mortality.
- Current laboratory diagnosis methods for Aspergillus infections are difficult and require improvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel biomarkers for the laboratory diagnosis of Aspergillus infections.
- To compare metabolomic profiles of pathogenic Aspergillus species with non-Aspergillus fungi.
Main Methods:
- Metabolomic profiling of culture supernatants from 30 Aspergillus strains (six species) and 31 non-Aspergillus fungal strains.
- Comparative analysis to identify species-specific compounds.
Main Results:
- Eight compounds were identified exclusively in all six pathogenic Aspergillus species tested, but not in non-Aspergillus fungi.
- A novel linear tetrapeptide, Leu-Glu-Leu-Glu (proposed name: aspergitide), was discovered.
- Two related compounds, hydroxy-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid and (sulfooxy)benzoic acid, were identified, potentially possessing anti-inflammatory properties.
Conclusions:
- The identified Aspergillus-specific compounds, including aspergitide, hold promise as diagnostic markers for invasive aspergillosis.
- Further research is warranted to validate these compounds for diagnostic applications and to investigate their role as potential virulence factors.
