Histopathological study in mice infected experimentally with Aspergillus fumigatus, Патоморфологічне дослідження мишей за експериментального зараження Aspergillus fumigatus

<jats:p>Aspergillosis is a highly prevalent and dangerous infectious zoonotic disease that poses a significant threat to public health and animal welfare globally. Aspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that disseminates efficiently through contaminated water, agricultural soil, and decaying organic matter. This research aims to characterize the acute toxic impacts and subsequent pathomorphological alterations induced by Aspergillus fumigatus within the liver and small intestine of laboratory mice. A total of 30 mice, aged 10–12 weeks and weighing approximately 25 g, were acclimated for two weeks and then randomly divided into an infected group and a control group, each containing 15 animals. Group 1 served as the untreated control, while Group 2 was challenged with a single intraperitoneal injection of Aspergillus fumigatus spore suspension at a concentration of 2×10⁷ cells/ml with a dose of 20 μl per mouse. Following the experimental period, all animals were humanely euthanized for subsequent visceral tissue collection. Detailed pathomorphological analysis of the liver from the infected group revealed prominent lymphocyte cuffing adjacent to the hepatic blood vessels, severe hepatocellular necrosis, dilation of the central vein, hydropic cellular swelling, and vascular congestion. Furthermore, histopathological examination of the small intestine documented severe mucosal barrier degradation, including villous epithelial hyperplasia, extensive mononuclear cell infiltration within the mucosa and submucosa, diffuse tissue edema, advanced villous blunting, and localized fibrosis. In conclusion, the obtained results demonstrate that Aspergillus fumigatus and its associated mycotoxins induce profound structural tissue ruin in vital internal organs. Given the ubiquitous environmental distribution of the pathogen, these findings highlight its high virulence, its capacity to breach local epithelial protective barriers, and its ability to trigger severe acute inflammation, resulting in profound pathomorphological alterations in essential internal organ systems.</jats:p>