Schultz, Christina M; Goel, Arukshita; Dunn, Allison; Knauss, Hanna; Huss, Chadwick; Launder, Dylan; Wuescher, Leah M; Conti, Heathe R; Worth, Randall G
description
is a pervasive commensal fungus that is the most common pathogen responsible for invasive fungal infection (IFI). With incidence of IFI on the rise due to increasing susceptible populations, it is imperative that we investigate how interacts with blood components. When stimulating either human or mouse whole blood with thrombin, we saw a significant decrease in survival. We then repeated killing assays with thrombin-stimulated or unstimulated washed platelets and saw a similar decrease in CFU. To investigate whether killing was mediated through surface components or releasable products, platelets were pretreated with an inhibitor of actin polymerization (cytochalasin D [CytoD]). CytoD was able to abrogate killing. Moreover, dilution of releasates from thrombin-stimulated platelets showed that the toxicity of the releasates on is concentration dependent. We then investigated actions on platelet activation, granule release, and aggregation. While does not appear to affect alpha or dense granule release, exerts a significant attenuation of platelet aggregation to multiple agonists. These results illustrate for the first time that platelets can directly kill through release of their granular contents. Additionally, can also exert inhibitory effects on platelet aggregation.
