Fungal Allergen and Mold Allergy Diagnosis: Role and Relevance of Alternaria alternata Alt a 1 Protein Family.

Patricia Sánchez,Ester Suñén,Jorge Martínez,Ainara Vélez-Del-Burgo,Idoia Postigo

doi:10.3390/jof8030277

Patricia Sánchez, Ester Suñén + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8030277

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Abstract

Alternaria is a genus of worldwide fungi found in different habitats such as soil, the atmosphere, plants or indoor environments. Alternaria species are saprobic—largely involved in the decomposition of organic material—but they can also act as animal pathogens, causing disease in humans and animals, developing infections, toxicosis and allergic diseases. A. alternata is considered one of the most important sources of fungal allergens worldwide and it is associated with severe asthma and respiratory status. Among the A. alternata allergens, Alt a 1 is the main sensitizing allergen and its usefulness in diagnosis and immunotherapy has been demonstrated. Alt a 1 seems to define a protein family that can be used to identify related pathogenic fungi in plants and fruits, and to establish taxonomic relationships between the different fungal divisions.

Highlights

The exposure to allergenic molds can cause IgE-mediated allergic rhinitis, asthma and atopic dermatitis [3], and it has been described that the sensitization to some fungi such as Aspergillus and/or Alternaria is related to the severity of an asthmatic arrest [4]
Described more than 20 years ago, it is known that the Alt a 1 allergen is the main allergen of A. alternata [19–21], with more than 80% of Alternaria allergic patients being sensitive to this allergen [3,22,23]
Alt a 1 defines the respiratory allergy caused by Alternaria, a phylogenetic related species belonging to Pleosporaceae family

Summary

Introduction

Allergic diseases are a group of immune-mediated disorders with a high worldwide prevalence affecting 30% of the general population and increasing dramatically. The exposure to allergenic molds can cause IgE-mediated allergic rhinitis, asthma and atopic dermatitis [3], and it has been described that the sensitization to some fungi such as Aspergillus and/or Alternaria is related to the severity of an asthmatic arrest [4]. Among the allergenic mold species, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cladosporium herbarum and Penicillium notatum are the ones with the highest prevalence in allergic disease or sensitizations [5]. A. alternata is considered one of the most important fungal allergens worldwide and is associated with severe asthma and respiratory status [4,8]. It accounts for 60% of SPT among patients sensitized to fungi [9]. In Spain, this prevalence was estimated to be around 20% [17]

Fungal Allergen and Mold Allergy Diagnosis

Fungi 2022, 8, 277

Relevance of Mold Distribution and Fungal Extracts in Allergy Diagnosis

Molecular Diagnosis and Fungal Molecules

Findings

Conclusions