ArticleInfection and immunity2014
Surface structure characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia mutated in the melanin synthesis pathway and their human cellular immune response.
Article in Infection and immunity, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 128 citations in OpenAlex.
- Application of melanin and its engineered nanomaterials in tumor radiotherapy: a review.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Review
- The structural language of fungal cell wall sugars in WHO priority fungi: the determinant of pathogenicity and the gateway to new therapies.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Genetic analysis of pigment production in the fungus Exophiala dermatitidis mutant strains obtained via nontargeted UV mutagenesis.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2025Article
- Transcription factor RonA-driven GlcNAc catabolism is essential for growth, cell wall integrity, and pathogenicity inMicrobiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Article
- Identification and functional characterization of major geneApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Regulation of melanin production in fungi.Frontiers in fungal biology · 2025Review
- Antifungal Innate Immunity.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- Melanin in fungi: advances in structure, biosynthesis, regulation, and metabolic engineering.Microbial cell factories · 2024Review
- Aspergillus fumigatus conidial surface-associated proteome reveals factors for fungal evasion and host immunity modulation.Nature microbiology · 2024Article
- Polyketide Trimming Shapes Dihydroxynaphthalene-Melanin and Anthraquinone Pigments.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Interplay of Cytokines and Chemokines in Aspergillosis.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- TheFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- Comparative proteome analysis identifies species-specific signature proteins in Aspergillus pathogens.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2023Article
- Regulation of Surfactant Protein Gene Expression byMicroorganisms · 2023Article
- "Under Pressure" - How fungi evade, exploit, and modulate cells of the innate immune system.Seminars in immunology · 2023Review
- Juxtaposing Caenorhabditis elegans-Pathogenic Mould Model with Other Models; How Reliable Is This Nematode Model? A Mini Review.Current microbiology · 2023Review
- Conidium Specific Polysaccharides inJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Production of Fungal Pigments: Molecular Processes and Their Applications.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
In Aspergillus fumigatus, the conidial surface contains dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN)-melanin. Six-clustered gene products have been identified that mediate sequential catalysis of DHN-melanin biosynthesis. Melanin thus produced is known to be a virulence factor, protecting the fungus from the host defense mechanisms. In the present study, individual deletion of the genes involved in the initial three steps of melanin biosynthesis resulted in an altered conidial surface with masked surface rodlet layer, leaky cell wall allowing the deposition of proteins on the cell surface and exposing the otherwise-masked cell wall polysaccharides at the surface. Melanin as such was immunologically inert; however, deletion mutant conidia with modified surfaces could activate human dendritic cells and the subsequent cytokine production in contrast to the wild-type conidia. Cell surface defects were rectified in the conidia mutated in downstream melanin biosynthetic pathway, and maximum immune inertness was observed upon synthesis of vermelone onward. These observations suggest that although melanin as such is an immunologically inert material, it confers virulence by facilitating proper formation of the A. fumigatus conidial surface.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.