Homobifunctional imidoester-modified zinc nano-spindle attenuated hyphae growth of Aspergillus against hypersensitivity responses

Huifang Liu; KeLun Zhang; Yoon Ok Jang; Zhen Qiao; Jie Jin; Thuy Nguyen Thi Dao; Bonhan Koo; Chang Ook Park; Yong Shin

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105922

Homobifunctional imidoester-modified zinc nano-spindle attenuated hyphae growth of Aspergillus against hypersensitivity responses

iScience. 2023 Jan 11;26(2):105922. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105922. eCollection 2023 Feb 17.

Authors

Huifang Liu¹, KeLun Zhang^{2

3}, Yoon Ok Jang¹, Zhen Qiao¹, Jie Jin⁴, Thuy Nguyen Thi Dao¹, Bonhan Koo¹, Chang Ook Park^{2

3}, Yong Shin¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Dermatology, Severance Hospital, Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
³ Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
⁴ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Fungi cause various forms of invasive fungal disease (IFD), and fungal sensitization can contribute to the development of asthma, asthma severity, and other hypersensitivity diseases, such as atopic dermatitis (AD). In this study, we introduce a facile and controllable approach, using homobifunctional imidoester-modified zinc nano-spindle (HINS), for attenuating hyphae growth of fungi and reducing the hypersensitivity response complications in fungi-infected mice. To extend the study of the specificity and immune mechanisms, we used HINS-cultured Aspergillus extract (HI-AsE) and common agar-cultured Aspergillus extract (Con-AsE) as the refined mouse models. HINS composites within the safe concentration range inhibited the hyphae growth of fungi but also reduce the number of fungal pathogens. Through the evaluation of lung and skin tissues from the mice, asthma pathogenesis (lung) and the hypersensitivity response (skin) to invasive aspergillosis were least severe in HI-AsE-infected mice. Therefore, HINS composites attenuate asthma and the hypersensitivity response to invasive aspergillosis.

Keywords: Nanomaterials; Pathogenic organism; Treatment.