Project

Globally, invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a pathogenic fungal-related disease, which is associated with a high mortality rate. The major causative pathogen is Aspergillus fumigatus, an airborne fungus. Azole-drugs are the first line of treatment for IA. However, the emergence of pan-azole resistance in A. fumigatus is an alarming threat. This demands alternative therapeutic strategies against IA. We recently identified that a surfactant protein present in the human lung-alveolar fluid and an antifungal peptide extracted from the seeds of Carum carvi (a plant) show, respectively, fungistatic and fungicidal activity against A. fumigatus. Our goal is to combine these distinct activities of surfactant protein and antifungal peptide against pan-azole resistant isolates of A. fumigatus as a new therapeutic strategy.