烟曲霉细胞壁的组分、组装及其功能概述

The cell wall of Aspergillus fumigatus:composition,biosynthesis and function

环境中普遍存在的腐生丝状真菌烟曲霉Aspergillus fumigatus在免疫功能低下或缺陷的人群中可引起多种急慢性疾病,包括致死率很高的侵袭性曲霉病。细胞壁作为真菌的细胞外骨架结构不仅起维持细胞形状、保护细胞抵抗外界压力等作用,在病原真菌极性生长、入侵新的生态域、启动宿主免疫反应中也起重要作用。细胞壁组分还是真菌感染的分子诊断基础和开发抗真菌药物的理想靶标。近几十年来烟曲霉细胞壁的遗传、生物化学及免疫学方向的研究使其成为研究真菌细胞壁的模式真菌。本文主要概述烟曲霉细胞壁的组分、分子组装机制及其在真菌生存和感染中的作用,并对未来研究方向提出了展望。

Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitous saprotrophic filamentous fungus in the environment. It is also the most common and life-threatening serial fungal pathogen, causing a variety of acute or chronic diseases in immunocompromised or immunodeficiency patients, including invasive aspergillosis that with high mortality rate. As a unique extracellular matrix fungal cell wall plays major roles in maintaining cell shape, protecting cells against the external stress, establishing polarized growth, invading new ecological niche and stimulating host immune response. Cell wall components are the biomarkers for the diagnosis of fungal infections, thus cell wall has been considered as the ideal target for the development of antifungal drugs. In recent decades, genetic, biochemical and immunological studies on the cell wall of A. fumigatus have made it an ideal model for studying the fungal cell wall. This review outlines composition, biosynthesis and function of A. fumigatus cell wall, and future research directions are proposed.