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Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Live Imaging of Antifungal Activity by Human Primary Neutrophils and Monocytes in Response to A. fumigatus
Published on: April 19, 2017
Serum amyloid P component is an essential element of resistance against Aspergillus fumigatus
Andrea Doni1, Raffaella Parente1, Ilaria Laface1,2
1IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
Abstract:
Serum amyloid P component (SAP, also known as Pentraxin 2; APCS gene) is a component of the humoral arm of innate immunity involved in resistance to bacterial infection and regulation of tissue remodeling. Here we investigate the role of SAP in antifungal resistance. Apcs-/- mice show enhanced susceptibility to A. fumigatus infection. Murine and human SAP bound conidia, activate the complement cascade and enhance phagocytosis by neutrophils. Apcs-/- mice are defective in vivo in terms of recruitment of neutrophils and phagocytosis in the lungs. Opsonic activity of SAP is dependent on the classical pathway of complement activation. In immunosuppressed mice, SAP administration protects hosts against A. fumigatus infection and death. In the context of a study of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, genetic variation in the human APCS gene is associated with susceptibility to invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Thus, SAP is a fluid phase pattern recognition molecule essential for resistance against A. fumigatus.
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