Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Specific Novel Tetrapeptide and Potential Anti-Inflammatory Metabolites in Pathogenic Aspergillus species

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Kim-Chung Lee¹  Emily W. T. Tam¹  Ka-Ching Lo¹  Alan K. L. Tsang¹  Candy C. Y. Lau¹  Kelvin K. W. To¹  Jasper F. W. Chan¹  Ching-Wan Lam²  Kwok-Yung Yuen¹  Susanna K. P. Lau¹  Patrick C. Y. Woo¹ 

[1] Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong; E-Mails:;Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong; E-Mail:

关键词: Aspergillus;    metabolomics;    metabolites;    biomarkers;    tetrapeptide;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms160613850

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Infections related to Aspergillus species have emerged to become an important focus in infectious diseases, as a result of the increasing use of immunosuppressive agents and high fatality associated with invasive aspergillosis. However, laboratory diagnosis of Aspergillus infections remains difficult. In this study, by comparing the metabolomic profiles of the culture supernatants of 30 strains of six pathogenic Aspergillus species (A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus, A. nomius and A. tamarii) and 31 strains of 10 non-Aspergillus fungi, eight compounds present in all strains of the six Aspergillus species but not in any strain of the non-Aspergillus fungi were observed. One of the eight compounds, Leu–Glu–Leu–Glu, is a novel tetrapeptide and represents the first linear tetrapeptide observed in Aspergillus species, which we propose to be named aspergitide. Two other closely related Aspergillus-specific compounds, hydroxy-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid and (sulfooxy)benzoic acid, may possess anti-inflammatory properties, as 2-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid possesses a structure similar to those of aspirin [2-(acetoxy)benzoic acid] and salicylic acid (2-hydroxybenzoic acid). Further studies to examine the potentials of these Aspergillus-specific compounds for laboratory diagnosis of aspergillosis are warranted and further experiments will reveal whether Leu–Glu–Leu–Glu, hydroxy-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid and (sulfooxy)benzoic acid are virulent factors of the pathogenic Aspergillus species.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.