In lung diseases caused by the major mould pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus the pulmonary epithelium is destroyed by invasive growth of fungal hyphae, a process thought to require fungal proteases. Here we show that the A. fumigatus pH-responsive transcription factor PacC governs expression of secreted proteases during invasive lung infections and is required for epithelial invasion and pathogenicity. In addition, A. fumigatus ΔpacC mutants aberrantly remodel the fungal cell wall during infection. This study defines distinct PacC-mediated mechanisms of host damage during pulmonary aspergillosis.
ch1: treatment protocol