UNASSIGNED: Clinical data and experimental studies suggest that bronchial epithelium could serve as a portal of entry for invasive @entity364 . We therefore analyzed the interactions between mold spores and the bronchial/bronchiolar epithelium at the early steps after inhalation. We developed @entity3 ( @entity54 ) and @entity2583 (Lichtheimia corymbifera) @entity19 models that mimic the main clinical risk factors for these infections. Histopathology studies were completed with a specific computer-assisted morphometric method to quantify bronchial and alveolar spores and with transmission electron microscopy. Morphometric analysis revealed a substantially higher number of bronchial/bronchiolar spores for A. fumigatus than L. corymbifera. The bronchial/bronchiolar spores decreased substantially between 1 and 18 hours after inoculation for both fungi, except in corticosteroid-treated @entity19 infected with A. fumigatus, suggesting an effect of @entity821 on bronchial spore clearance. No increase in the number of spores of any species was observed over time at the basal pole of the epithelium, suggesting the lack of transepithelial crossing. Transmission electron microscopy did not show spore internalization by bronchial epithelial cells. Instead, spores were phagocytized by mononuclear cells on the apical pole of epithelial cells. Early epithelial internalization of fungal spores in  vivo cannot explain the bronchial/bronchiolar epithelium invasion observed in some @entity3 . The bioimaging approach provides a useful means to accurately enumerate and localize the fungal spores in the pulmonary tissues.

Absence of Fungal Spore Internalization by Bronchial Epithelium in XXXX Models Evidenced by a New Bioimaging Approach and Transmission Electronic Microscopy.

@entity2583 :: ('MESH:D009091', 'Disease') :: ['mucormycosis'] @entity821 :: ('MESH:D003348', 'Chemical') :: ['cortisone'] @entity19 :: ('10090', 'Species') :: ['mice', 'murine'] @entity364 :: ('MESH:D009181', 'Disease') :: ['fungal infections'] @entity54 :: ('746128', 'Species') :: ['Aspergillus fumigatus'] @entity3 :: ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') :: ['invasive mold infections', 'invasive aspergillosis']
@entity19 :: (10090,Species) :: ['Mouse']
