| Aspergillosis and mucormycosis are two of the most progressive and lethal fungal diseases. Despite current antifungal treatments, the mortality rate is extremely high (50%- 90%). Aspergillosis is commonly caused by Aspergillus fumigatus (90%) while mucormycosis is mostly caused by Rhizopus oryzae (70%). Antifungals are not adequate to protect the patients against these diseases; therefore, potential prevention strategies likely provide better options for disease management. Vaccination with fungal cell wall proteins represents one of these options. Patients who develop aspergillosis and/or mucormycosis share similar risk factors. Therefore, a shared immunodominant antigen has the potential to protect patients from both diseases. We have indentified an immunodominant antigen on the cell surface of A. fumigatus, Ecm33p that has cross reactivity to R. oryzae. Ecm33p was immunogenic in mice with high anti-Ecm33p IgG titer in vaccinated mice. However, neither Ecm33p nor its antibodies protected mice from aspergillosis or mucormycosis in 4 models of infection. |
