Abstract
Invasive aspergillosis is a leading cause of infectious death in immunosuppressed patients. Here, we adapted a phage display library-based selection to screen and identify binding peptides to the surface of
Aspergillus fumigatus
conidia and hyphae. We identified a peptide (sequence CGGRLGPFC) that reliably binds to the surface of
Aspergillus fumigatus
hyphae. Binding was not
Aspergillus
strain specific, as it was also observed in hyphae of other
Aspergillus
clinical isolates. Furthermore, CGGRLGPFC-displaying phage targets
Aspergillus fumigatus
hyphae on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded histopathology sections of lung tissue recovered from mice with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. This approach may yield reagents such as peptidomimetics for novel diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in invasive aspergillosis.