Real-time visualization of immune cell clearance of Aspergillus fumigatus spores and hyphae.

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a disease of the immunocompromised host and generally caused by the opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. While both host and fungal factors contribute to disease severity and outcome, there are fundamental features of IA development including fungal morphological transition from infectious conidia to tissue-penetrating hyphae as well as host defenses rooted in mechanisms of innate phagocyte function. Here we address recent advances in the field and use real-time in vivo imaging in the larval zebrafish to visually highlight conserved vertebrate innate immune behaviors including macrophage phagocytosis of conidia and neutrophil responses post-germination.