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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, June 2003, p. 1818-1823, Vol. 47, No. 6
0066-4804/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AAC.47.6.1818-1823.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Voriconazole Inhibits Fungal Growth without Impairing Antigen Presentation or T-Cell Activation

Heather L. Van Epps,1 Marta Feldmesser,2 and Eric G. Pamer1*

Laboratory of Antimicrobial Immunity, Immunology Program, and Infectious Disease Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York,1 Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein Medical College, Bronx, New York2

Received 11 October 2002/ Returned for modification 27 January 2003/ Accepted 18 March 2003

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is the most common life-threatening invasive mold infection worldwide. The principal therapy for IA is amphotericin B, despite its known toxicity and immunosuppressive side effects. Studies in animal models of IA suggest a role for T lymphocytes in the pathology of the disease, although the precise role for Aspergillus-specific T cells remains undefined. The isolation and characterization of T lymphocytes in animal models of IA are hampered by the rapid outgrowth of the fungus in cultures derived from infected organs. In the present study, we tested the abilities of the antifungal drugs caspofungin acetate and voriconazole to inhibit fungal growth in vitro as a means of maintaining cultures of T cells from Aspergillus-infected mice. We demonstrate that while both antifungal drugs are inhibitory, only voriconazole completely inhibited fungal growth, allowing long-term maintenance of T-cell cultures. In addition, voriconazole had no inhibitory effect on the activation and maturation of dendritic cells or the proliferation of T lymphocytes. Thus, voriconazole appears to be a promising agent for use in in vitro studies of Aspergillus-specific T lymphocytes in animal models of IA.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Infectious Disease Division, Department of Immunology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave., New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 639-7809. Fax: (212) 717-3021. E-mail: pamere{at}mskcc.org.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, June 2003, p. 1818-1823, Vol. 47, No. 6
0066-4804/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AAC.47.6.1818-1823.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Rivera, A., Collins, N., Stephan, M. T., Lipuma, L., Leiner, I., Pamer, E. G. (2009). Aberrant Tissue Localization of Fungus-Specific CD4+ T Cells in IL-10-Deficient Mice. J. Immunol. 183: 631-641 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rivera, A., Van Epps, H. L., Hohl, T. M., Rizzuto, G., Pamer, E. G. (2005). Distinct CD4+-T-Cell Responses to Live and Heat-Inactivated Aspergillus fumigatus Conidia. Infect. Immun. 73: 7170-7179 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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