Does pre-exposure of Aspergillus fumigatus to voriconazole or posaconazole in vitro affect its virulence and the in vivo activity of subsequent posaconazole or voriconazole, respectively? A study in a fly model of aspergillosis

G. A. Lamaris, R. Ben-Ami, R. E. Lewis, D. P. Kontoyiannis*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: Voriconazole and posaconazole are effective as both prophylaxis and treatment for invasive aspergillosis (IA) in immunocompromised patients. Hence, it is important to determine whether Aspergillus pre-exposure to voriconazole or posaconazole diminishes subsequent posaconazole or voriconazole activity, respectively. Methods: We used Aspergillus fumigatus (AF) 293 conidia with or without prior exposure to voriconazole or posaconazole [three serial passages on plates containing regular yeast extract-glucose (YAG) media, YAG+0.0625 mg/L voriconazole or YAG+0.025 mg/L posaconazole]. Toll-deficient Drosophila melanogaster flies were infected by injection, and 8 day survival was monitored. Following infection, flies were fed either regular food, food containing 1000 mg/L voriconazole (posaconazole-exposed conidia) or 1000 mg/L posaconazole (voriconazole-exposed conidia). Voriconazole and posaconazole concentrations in flies were confirmed by HPLC. Results: AF inoculation resulted in 71% mortality 8 days post-infection (median survival 4 days). Prior conidial exposure to voriconazole or posaconazole did not affect mortality (73%, P = 0.8 for voriconazole pre-exposed and 76%, P = 0.49 for posaconazole pre-exposed). Voriconazole treatment post-infection had a protective effect, reducing mortality to 42% (P = 0.0002), while prior conidial exposure to posaconazole did not alter the protective effect of voriconazole (34% 8 day mortality, P = 0.35). Likewise, posaconazole treatment post-infection reduced mortality to 36%, while prior conidial exposure to voriconazole did not alter the protective effect of posaconazole (39% mortality, P = 0.92). Median fly homogenate concentrations of voriconazole and posaconazole were 0.44 and 2.05 mg/L, respectively. Conclusions: Prior exposure of AF to voriconazole or posaconazole did not affect the virulence of AF nor the subsequent activity of the alternate triazole in a Drosophila model of IA.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)539-542
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Volume62
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Fujisawa
Merck&Co., Inc.
Pfizer
Schering-Plough

    Keywords

    • Drosophila melanogaster
    • Fungal infections
    • Triazoles

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