Department of Infection Control Science, Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine.
Osaka International Research Center for Infectious Diseases (OIRCID), Osaka Metropolitan University.
Med Mycol J. 2024;65(2):29-32. doi: 10.3314/mmj.24.002.
Mucormycosis is a fungal infectious disease caused by Rhizopus oryzae and other members of the order Mucorales, and it is known as one of the most lethal fungal infections. Early diagnosis of mucormycosis improves prognosis because of limited effective treatments and the rapid progression of the disease. On the other hand, the lack of characteristic clinical findings in mucormycosis and the challenge of early definitive diagnosis make early treatment difficult. Our goal was to establish a serodiagnostic method to detect Rhizopus specific antigen (RSA), and we have developed a diagnostic kit by Enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) using a monoclonal antibody against this antigen. RSA increased over time in the serum and alveolar lavage fluid of R. oryzae-infected mice. RSA was also detected in serum and alveolar fluid, even at an early stage (Day 1), when the tissue invasion of R. oryzae mycelium was not histopathologically detectable in the lungs of R. oryzae-infected mice. Further evaluation is needed to determine the feasibility of using this assay in clinical practice.
毛霉病是一种由根毛霉属和其他毛霉目成员引起的真菌感染性疾病，是最致命的真菌感染之一。由于有效的治疗方法有限且疾病进展迅速，毛霉病的早期诊断可改善预后。另一方面，毛霉病缺乏特征性的临床发现，早期明确诊断具有挑战性，这使得早期治疗变得困难。我们的目标是建立一种检测根毛霉属特异性抗原 (RSA) 的血清诊断方法，并使用针对该抗原的单克隆抗体通过酶联免疫吸附试验 (ELISA) 开发了一种诊断试剂盒。在感染根毛霉属的小鼠的血清和肺泡灌洗液中，RSA 随时间推移而增加。甚至在早期（第 1 天），当根毛霉属菌丝的组织侵袭在感染根毛霉属的小鼠肺部的组织病理学上还无法检测到时，也可在血清和肺泡液中检测到 RSA。需要进一步评估来确定该检测方法在临床实践中的可行性。
