In vitro analysis of antiangiogenic activity of fungi isolated from clinical cases of equine keratomycosis

Abstract

Objective The goal of this project was to explore the possibility that fungal organisms produce metabolites that inhibit angiogenesis. Procedures Fungal cultures were obtained from cases of keratomycosis, grown in Sabouraud's dextrose broth, and sterile filtered for use in experiments. The Matrigel assay was used to screen the filtrate samples for antiangiogenic activity. Martigel is a basement membrane matrix that supports the differentiation of human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVE) cells into a capillary‐like network of tubules. HUVE cells were cultured using standard techniques and passaged at confluence, with all cells being used at passage 3–6. HUVE cells (40 000 cells) were pipetted into each well of a 24‐well tissue‐culture plate coated with Matrigel. An aliquot of fungal media filtrate was added to each well and the plates allowed to incubate for 18 h, at which time they were evaluated for tubule formation. Results Two fungal isolates showed inhibition of tubule formation. The addition of 100, 200 and 400 μL of the fungal media filtrate from the first isolate (Fusarium sp. 99A34574) produced a consistent and dose‐dependent inhibition of tubule formation. The second isolate (Aspergillus sp. 271599) did not show inhibition of tubule formation with 100 or 200 μL added to the wells, however, it did show inhibition at 400 μL/well. The remaining three isolates did not cause inhibition at any concentration. Conclusions Our findings suggest that certain fungal organisms produce metabolites that inhibit tubule formation in vitro, and that these metabolites may play a significant role in altering the host vascular response to fungal infections of the cornea.