aspergillus hyphae

Hyphae (plural) are the branching filaments that make up the structure of a fungus.

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Friday, I have questions for scientist, Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo. Saturday, she has answers for me.

Sunday morning, out for a run, I wonder how to approach a second study of aspergillus. Looking around, I know the fungus is all around me. I come across a dead tree and have the idea to gather twigs for drawing texture and interesting mark-making.

Drawing implement or Aspergillus/Fugus carrier?

Though I don’t want to simplify Ana’s work, I do want to get a general sense of the bug.

Where in the body does aspergillus end up? (I think breathing pathways…nose, lungs. How about the liver?) How and what sort of damage does it cause? On a scale from 1-10  how bad/problematic to a person – is this fungus? (I hope she doesn’t cringe at the latter.)

It can go almost anywhere, Ana explains. We daily breath thousands of Aspergillus spores. It is in our lungs. People with a healthy inmune system usually clear it up and it does not go further. There are some persons in which an allergic response is developed and this causes allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA).

The other important group are people that have problems with the immune system (cancer, transplants, HIV, people under corticosteroids, diabetic…etc). In these patients Aspergillus enters into the lungs and if it is not cleared by their immune system it further develops infections and can lead to invasive aspergilosis that if not treated has 100% mortality. Mainly Aspergillus causes respiratory infections but as I said, it can diseminate in people with impaired immune systems.

Ana continues… How bad/problematic for a person with Aspergillus depends on the immune system. Mortality is arround 40% but can reach 80% if we are dealing with strains that are resistant to antifungals. 

The problem with antifungal resistance is that it is not frequently screened. There aren’t many commercially available methods to test for it.  Often it is only performed in developed countries and sometimes restricted to reference or very specialized labs.

And regarding the rate from 1 to 10, if you are immunosuppressed or have an underlying disease it can be very problematic, like an 8 or 9. People that are at high risk for developing invasive fungal infections, like hematological patients, receive antifungal prophylaxis by default. But if you are healthy, no problem.

I work and consider her words and the value of this education.

textured substrate

work in progress

Aspergillus Hyphae, Mixed media on wood, 8″ round

Please feel free to leave questions and/or comments.

More about the work of → Ana Alastruey Izquierdo

#artistmeetsscientist #artmeetsscience #publicengagement

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One of the best parts of this particular Public Engagement Project is that I connect with scientists in other parts of the world.

It’s a pleasure to meet you Ana, albeit virtually. Thank you for teaching me about this beautiful but potentially nasty fungus.

Mucho gusto en conocerte Ana!

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©2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MONICA AISSA MARTINEZ

white becoming white

Candida albicans, member of the Saccharomycetaceae (yeast) family as well as the human microbial community, I especially enjoy painting you fungus. I wasn’t planning on it, but maybe I’ll draw another member of your fungi kingdom.

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The word Candida comes from the Latin candidus, meaning white. Albicans derives from the Latin word albicō, meaning becoming white. White becoming white.

Man, are we loaded with bugs! I never gave this stuff a thought…by stuff I mean the variety of microorganisms, including candida, holding microscopic space in the human body.

This fungus is most commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth (in at least 80% of the worldwide population). In some circles Candida aids in food digestion and absorption, while in other circles (the out of control circles?) it’s known as an opportunistic pathogen.

Candida albicans under the microscope.

The fungus (yeast) is naturally  found in the human body, primarily in the intestine, colon and mouth. Out of control, it can attack skin and mucous membranes. It can also travel through  the blood stream and affect kidneys, heart, lungs, throat and heart-valves. (Is this what it means to be metabolically flexible?)

cellular structure.

C. albicans is an eukaryotic organism. It’s structure includes a cell wall (which seems an important aspect to this microorganism), nucleus, ribosomes and mitochondria. I don’t know what it means when I read hyphae sense reproductive units from a distance and grow towards them but it makes me think of an electric pull.

I appreciate the lace-like quality of the organic form. The long branches, called hyphae (web) with their circular budded tip, appeal to me. This subject-matter is visually elegant and playful. Candida itself, complicated.

Here is what I wonder:
Candida albicans are commensal. We eat at the same table? I take this to mean they consume what the human host consumes. Yes? Or do they eat what the host discards?  Mutually beneficial?
Is C. albicans overgrowth always seen as an attack on the body? Can the out of control set up be a warning sign of another imbalance (other microbes) in the human body? 

#Microbiota #NewToMe #LoveDrawingMicroorganisms