Identification of the 33-kDa alkaline protease of Aspergillus fumigatus in vitro and in vivo.

Aspergillus fumigatus produced a 33-kDa serine protease (ALP) in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, this alkaline protease was secreted when the fungus was cultivated in the absence of protein, if the pH of the medium remained close to neutrality. Western blotting and immunoelectronmicroscopy studies showed that ALP was localised in the wall of the fungus and was degraded after secretion in the culture medium under conditions of low pH. Although present in the lung during infection, ALP did not appear to be diagnostically useful and was different from the precipitating chymotrypsin antigen used in the diagnosis of aspergilloma.