Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Collection in Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis Murine Model for Downstream Proteomic Analysis.

Abstract

The immunocompromised populations are susceptible to invasive fungal infections, such as invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). Aspergillus spp. produce airborne spores, called conidia. The small size of conidia allows them to reach the most proximal airways, such as the alveoli. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid represents an important source of proteins, either from the host or the fungal pathogen, that are associated with the pathobiology of Aspergillus fumigatus and, thus, serve as crucial factors to elucidate virulence factors and/or promising novel antifungal drug targets. This chapter describes the method to obtain bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from an immunosuppressed murine model of IPA and the protein concentration estimation required for downstream proteomic analysis of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.