Combination therapy with micafungin and amphotericin B for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in an immunocompromised mouse model

Objectives Antifungal monotherapy with polyenes, azoles or echinocandins is not always effective for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a combination of micafungin and amphotericin B for the primary treatment of IPA in an immunocompromised mouse model. Methods Female ICR mice were used in all experiments. An immunosuppressive state was induced in mice by an intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide. Mice were intratracheally inoculated with Aspergillus fumigatus conidia, treated with micafungin, amphotericin B or both for 7 days, and were tested for their survival 20 days after the Aspergillus inoculation. Fungal burden in lungs, serum galactomannan index (GMI) and histopathology of lungs, spleen and kidneys were also evaluated. Results Combination therapy with micafungin and amphotericin B gave excellent survival of infected mice compared with monotherapy with micafungin or amphotericin B alone. Combined therapy reduced the fungal burden in the lungs and the serum GM levels compared with monotherapy or untreated controls, resulting in a significant histological improvement with disappearance of fungi in the lungs. Conclusions These findings suggest that combination therapy with micafungin and amphotericin B is more effective compared with monotherapy with either of them alone for IPA treatment.