TITLE:
Immunohistochemical Localization of Aspergillus and p53 in Human Lung Tissues
AUTHORS:
Mohannad G. Al-Saghir, Mosleh A. Alkhatatbeh, Ahed J. Alkhatib
KEYWORDS:
Aspergilius, p53, Immunohistochemical, Lung Tissues
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Molecular Biology,
Vol.5 No.4,
October
9,
2015
ABSTRACT: Aspergilli are filamentous fungi which can cause opportunistic infections in Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome (AIDS) patients. Aspergilli can be found in human tissues either in the form of
spores or hyphae. p53 is a tumor suppressor gene located in the short arm of chromosome 17. It is
a potent transcriptional regulator of genes which are involved in many cellular activities including
cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and angiogenesis. A loss of tumor suppressor function of p53 is the
most common event leading to the development of human cancers. The rate by which p53 has a
homology between different species has been reported from human to other vertebrates, it has
been reported that it is available within Drosophila melanogaster and C. elegans [1] [2]. The aim of
this study is to check if p53 is localized within Aspergilli or not using immunohistochemical techniques
and study the relationship between Aspergilli infection and p53 in human lung tissues. 45
different samples of lung tissues, diagnosed as being none tumor, were taken randomly during the
year of 2003-2004 from the autopsy cases submitted to the forensic medicine center in Irbid, Jordan.
The sample group consisted of 12 females and 33 males. Labeled Streptavidin Biotin (LSAB)
method and Mach-4 method were used to determine the Aspergilli infection and p53. The results
show that the Aspergillus is presented in all used samples (100% of the infection) in the form of
spores or hyphae and all infected samples have mutant p53 molecules (p53 was located in Aspergillus
spores and hyphae). According to this study, it is safe to posit that the mutant p53 molecules
may be used by Aspergillus for its multiplication. Seemingly it is a biological behavior of Aspergillus
to produce p53. The fate of the p53 is questioned, is it going to interact with the human cells
initiating cancer? Further experimental investigations are required to determine such pathway. In
conclusion, this study shows that Aspergillus is a producing agent for p53 and Aspergillus pathogenicity
is caused by production of p53.