Aspergillus Unit

Technical expertise

Methodologies currently used in our laboratory in the study of Aspergillus fumigatus:

Mycology techniques
Fungal cultures in fermentor under controled conditions.
Fungal identification

Molecular biology techniques
Cloning and disruption of genes by integration of auxotrophic or resistance markers.
Expression of A. fumigatus proteins in Pichia pastoris.
Transcriptome analysis using macroarrays containing 5,000 PCR products.

Biochemistry and immunology techniques
Extraction and chromatographic purification of peptides, proteins and polysaccharides (liquid chromatography, HPLC).
Localization, identification, caracterization of proteins by biochemical and immunochemical methods.
Classical techniques of carbohydrate analysis (GC, GC/MS, NMR).
Production of antibodies directed against fungal proteins and polysaccharides.

Cellular biology techniques
Cultures of alveolar macrophages (primary human and murine cells, cell line MHS),
Study of phagocytosis (internalization, intracellular trafic, killing of fungal conidia) by immunofluorescence (double staining).

Animal expérimentations
Study of virulence of strains of Aspergillus fumigatus in mice (intranasal inoculations),
Production of antibodies in rabbit or mouse (intranasal, intradermal, intraveinous, intramuscular inoculations of proteinic ou polysaccharidic antigens or DNA).

Ultrastructure and immunocytochimistry in transmission and scanning electron microscopy