IAI Accepts, published online ahead of print on 29 June 2009

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Infect. Immun. doi:10.1128/IAI.00426-09
Copyright (c) 2009, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Transcription factor AfPrtTp controls expression of multiple secreted proteases in the human pathogenic mold Aspergillus fumigatus

Haim Sharon, Shelley Hagag, and Nir Osherov^*

Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv 69978, Tel-Aviv, Israel

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: nosherov{at}post.tau.ac.il.

The role of secreted proteases in the virulence of the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus remains controversial. Recently, the Aspergillus niger transcription factor PrtT was shown to control the expression of multiple secreted proteases. In this work, AfPrtT, the gene which encodes the PrtT homolog in A. fumigatus, was cloned and its function analyzed using a deletion mutant strain. Deletion of AfPrtT resulted in the loss of secreted protease activity. The expression of six secreted proteases (ALP, MEP, Dpp4, CpdS, AFUA-_2G17330 and AFUA_7G06220) was markedly reduced. Culture filtrates from the AfPrtT-deleted strain exhibited reduced killing of lung epithelial cells and lysis of erythrocytes. However, the AfPrtT-deleted strain did not exhibit altered virulence in lung-infected mice. These results suggest that AfPrtT is not a significant virulence factor in A. fumigatus.

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