Significance of galactomannan antigen for aspergillosis diagnosis: A review

Abstract

Invasive aspergillosis is one the major causes of death in hematopoietic and solidtransplant<br />recipients. One of the most critical problems in medical mycology is the<br />inability to consistently make a convincing and early diagnosis of invasive fungal<br />infection. Conventional diagnosis methods such as culture-based approaches are limited<br />by the insufficient accessibility sensitivity and the non-culture-based approaches based on<br />the detection of specific fungal antigens, fungal metabolites, and fungal DNA are limited<br />by the slow speed of analysis. Early diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis is the main<br />complication in its treatment. Galactomannan is a polysaccharide present in the cell wall<br />of Aspergillus species. This carbohydrate is released into the serum during the invasion of<br />Aspergillus. Recently, a double-sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)<br />was developed for detecting galactomannan antigenemia in the serum. This assay is an<br />important advancement in the nonculture diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis. The level of<br />galactomannan in the serum may be an important indication of therapeutic response. In<br />this review, the role of galactomannan in the diagnosis of IA and its significance has been<br />highlighted.