413462

Evaluation of Galleria mellonella larvae as model for testing the virulence factors following infection with the human pathogenic fungi Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus

Article

Last updated: 25 Feb 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Biotechnology

Abstract

Background: Testing microbial virulence in mammals is a prerequisite before applying therapeutic agents to humans. However, conducting experiments in mammalian models is expensive and requires ethical considerations. Therefore, insects have been widely used as an alternative model to study human microbial virulence. Aim: This work aimed to evaluate the use of Galleria mellonella larvae as a model for testing the virulence factors of the human pathogenic fungi, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal-induced influences on mortality and various immunological and histological parameters were also evaluated and compared. Materials and methods: Virulence was assessed by including hemocyte density, melanin formation, phenoloxidase (PO) activity, and cytotoxic effects were evaluated as indicators of fungal virulence. Results: Our findings, collected from survival tests and time post-infection, revealed interspecific differences, more pronounced with C. albicans than with A. fumigatus, and an increasing burden of infected larvae over time. The differences may be partially elucidated by disparities in growth rate and the production of hydrolytic enzymes of the tested fungi. Challenged larvae with either fungal species exhibited a notable reduction in circulating hemocytes and hemolymph protein content, a significant increase in melanin formation, phagocytosis, and PO activity, along with pronounced cytotoxic effects in the cuticle and midgut. Conclusion: We can conclude that G. mellonella larvae constitute a simpler and more suitable model for studying the virulence of many fungal species.

DOI

10.21608/jcbr.2025.336705.1376

Keywords

Cytotoxicity, Melanin, phagocytosis, Phenoloxidase, Virulence

Authors

First Name

Mohamed

Last Name

Abokersh

MiddleName

O

Affiliation

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Al-Asmarya Islamic University, Zeletin, Libya

Email

ahmedbream66@gmail.com

City

Zeletin

Orcid

-

First Name

Hanan

Last Name

Hanan

MiddleName

Hussein

Affiliation

Department of Biology, College of Education. Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al-Bayda, Libya

Email

ahmed_bream@yahoo.com

City

Al-Baydaa

Orcid

-

First Name

Emad

Last Name

Barakat

MiddleName

M

Affiliation

Entomology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Email

emsbarakat@yahoo.com

City

Cairo

Orcid

-

First Name

Zeinab

Last Name

Shouaib

MiddleName

A

Affiliation

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science (Girls), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

Email

ahmed_bream@hotmail.com

City

Cairo

Orcid

-

First Name

Ahmed

Last Name

Bream

MiddleName

S

Affiliation

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

Email

ahmedbream60@azhar.edu.eg

City

New Cairo, 5th Settlement

Orcid

-

Volume

9

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

54011

Issue Date

2025-03-01

Receive Date

2024-11-15

Publish Date

2025-03-01

Page Start

1

Page End

11

Print ISSN

3009-6391

Online ISSN

3009-7312

Link

https://jcbr.journals.ekb.eg/article_413462.html

Detail API

http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=413462

Order

413,462

Type

Original Article

Type Code

885

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Cancer and Biomedical Research

Publication Link

https://jcbr.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Evaluation of Galleria mellonella larvae as model for testing the virulence factors following infection with the human pathogenic fungi Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus

Details

Type

Article

Created At

25 Feb 2025