Vaccination of corticosteroid immunosuppressed mice against invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is an emerging devastating infection in the immunocompromised host that is treated with corticosteroids for neoplastic disease or for organ transplantation. By use of a model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in corticosteroid-treated CF-1 mice, prior infection and 2 Aspergillus fumigatus vaccine preparations (sonicate and filtrate) administered intranasally and subcutaneously were tested for efficacy in protecting against subsequent lethal A. fumigatus infection. The mortality rates were as follows: control subjects, 100%; prior infection, 12.5%; sonicate administered intranasally, 29%; sonicate given subcutaneously, 0%; filtrate given intranasally, 75%; and filtrate given subcutaneously, 50%. Prior infection and A. fumigatus sonicate vaccine administered by 2 routes protected corticosteroid-treated animals against subsequent lethal invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. The sonicate vaccine was more protective, but the subcutaneous route was more effective.