{"title":"Fungi-sensitized individuals have unique profiles where Alt a 1 dominates promoting response to grass, ragweed and cat allergens.","authors":"Viktoriia Kalyniuk, Victoria Rodinkova, Serhii Yuriev, Vitalii Mokin, Arsen Losenko, Mariia Kryvopustova, Diana Zabolotna, Inna Gogunska","doi":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1438393","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/falgy.2024.1438393","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The aim of our work was to determine comprehensively the sensitization profile of patients hypersensitive to fungal allergenic components in the Ukrainian population, identifying features of their co-sensitization to allergens of other groups and establishing potential relationships between causative allergens and their ability to provoke this hypersensitivity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A set of programs was developed using Python and R programming languages, implementing the K-means++ clustering method. Bayesian networks were constructed based on the created clusters, allowing for the assessment of the probabilistic interplay of allergen molecules in the sensitization process of patients.</p><p><strong>Results and discussion: </strong>It was found that patients sensitive to fungi are polysensitized, with 84.77% of them having unique allergological profiles, comprising from 2 to several dozen allergens from different groups. The immune response to Alt a 1 may act as the primary trigger for sensitization to other allergens and may contribute to a high probability of developing sensitivity to grasses (primarily to Phl p 2), ragweed extract, and the Amb a 1 pectate lyase, as well as to pectate lyase Cry j 1 and cat allergen Fel d 1. Individuals polysensitized to molecular components of fungi were often sensitive to such cross-reactive molecules as lipocalins Fel d 4 and Can f 6, as well. Sensitivity to Ambrosia extract which dominated in the development of sensitization to ragweed pollen indicating the importance of different allergenic components of this plant's pollen. This hypothesis, along with the assumption that Phl p 2 may be the main trigger for sensitivity to grasses in patients with <i>Alternaria</i> allergy, requires further clinical investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":73062,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in allergy","volume":"5 ","pages":"1438393"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11388980/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142302471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in allergyPub Date : 2024-08-23eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1448220
Alexandra Lee, Rosemarie DeKruyff, Luisa Ricciardi
{"title":"Editorial: The safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of allergen-specific oral immunotherapy.","authors":"Alexandra Lee, Rosemarie DeKruyff, Luisa Ricciardi","doi":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1448220","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/falgy.2024.1448220","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73062,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in allergy","volume":"5 ","pages":"1448220"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11377328/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142156843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in allergyPub Date : 2024-08-23eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1445207
Rajesh Melaram
{"title":"Early life exposures of childhood asthma and allergies-an epidemiologic perspective.","authors":"Rajesh Melaram","doi":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1445207","DOIUrl":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1445207","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Children around the world are continuing to develop and suffer from chronic lung diseases such as asthma. Childhood asthma commonly presents with recurrent episodes of cough, shortness of breath, and wheezing, all of which can lead to missed school days and hospitalization admissions. The role of environmental pollutants and aeroallergens has been increasingly recognized in relation to asthma etiology. We showcase the impacts of air pollution and pollen exposures in early life on childhood asthma and allergies through an epidemiologic perspective. We also examine the effects of indoor microbial exposures such as endotoxin and glucan on allergic diseases in schoolchildren as many spend most of their time in a household or classroom setting. Findings of this work can assist in the identification of key environmental factors in critical life periods and improve clinicians' diagnoses of asthma during early childhood.</p>","PeriodicalId":73062,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in allergy","volume":"5 ","pages":"1445207"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11377413/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142156842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in allergyPub Date : 2024-08-22eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1453446
Juan Liu, Jia Yin
{"title":"A retrospective analysis of the clinical efficacy in patients treated with <i>Alternaria alternata</i> and <i>Dermatophagoides farinae</i> immunotherapy.","authors":"Juan Liu, Jia Yin","doi":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1453446","DOIUrl":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1453446","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The clinical efficacy of allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) for <i>Alternaria alternata</i> (<i>A. alt</i>) and <i>Dermatophagoides farinae</i> (<i>Der f</i>) extracts remains largely unknown in China. We sought to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy caused by AIT agents manufactured in China of patients who are sensitized to <i>A. alt</i> and <i>Der f</i>.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients aged 5-27 years with asthma and perennial allergic rhinitis (AR), and AIT with <i>A. alt</i> and <i>Der f</i> were recruited, and then classified into two groups: <i>A. alt</i>-AIT (<i>n</i> = 31) and <i>A. alt</i> + <i>Der f</i>-AIT group (<i>n</i> = 39). All data were gathered retrospectively, including biological parameters, pulmonary function, and symptom and medication scores.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>70 patients who underwent <i>A. alt</i> and <i>Der f</i> AIT were enrolled. A significant improvement was observed in the values of FEV1% (<i>P</i> < 0.0001) and MEF 25 (<i>P</i> = 0.023) of lung function. Both the rhinitis symptoms and combined symptoms and medication scores for asthma decreased after AIT (by 45.3% and 80.3%, respectively, <i>P</i> < 0.0001 for each). Nearly 67% improvement rate (<i>P</i> < 0.0001) occurred in rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life, and a great increase existed in Asthma Control Test (ACT) score (<i>P</i> < 0.0001) after at least 1 year AIT, although there were no significant changes between these two groups. Besides, no significance was displayed in specific IgE to different allergens.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>AIT with <i>A. alt</i> and <i>Der f</i> extracts had clinical efficacy for many patients in China, with a reduction of symptom and medication scores, and great improvement in spirometry function.</p>","PeriodicalId":73062,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in allergy","volume":"5 ","pages":"1453446"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11374762/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142141913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in allergyPub Date : 2024-08-21eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1413171
Sharlene D Newman, Aylin Akca Sumengen, Michael Rasbury, Steven McDaniel
{"title":"The effect of the housing crisis in the Alabama Black Belt on respiratory health.","authors":"Sharlene D Newman, Aylin Akca Sumengen, Michael Rasbury, Steven McDaniel","doi":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1413171","DOIUrl":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1413171","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>There is a growing housing crisis in rural America with homelessness growing in addition to a growing number of substandard homes due to an inability to afford the costs of repair and maintenance. The goal of the current study was to assess the housing concerns in rural Alabama Black Belt communities which are often understudied and the relationship between housing quality and respiratory health.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A semi-random sampling of five Black Belt counties was conducted to obtain a sample of 253 rural households. The survey was designed to obtain information regarding household income, housing status including a list of safety concerns and respiratory health. A <i>χ</i> <sup>2</sup> analysis was performed to examine the effect of housing type and income on prevalence of respiratory illness and safety home concerns (e.g., roofing, windows/doors, floors, mold/mildew).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The majority of households surveyed had an annual income below $15,000 and owned their homes with over half of the homes being manufactured homes. Lower income was associated with increased prevalence of asthma [<i>χ</i> <sup>2</sup>(2, <i>N</i> = 237) = 7.75, <i>p</i> = 0.021], while living in a manufactured home was associated with increased risk of allergies [<i>χ</i> <sup>2</sup>(1, <i>N</i> = 251) = 7.88, <i>p</i> = 0.005]. Additionally, poor windows and doors [<i>χ</i> <sup>2</sup>(1, <i>N</i> = 253) = 3.8, <i>p</i> = 0.05] was associated with higher prevalence of asthma.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The results confirm and expand previous results and demonstrate the relationship between quality housing and allergy and asthma prevalence in rural areas with an abundance of aging manufactured homes.</p>","PeriodicalId":73062,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in allergy","volume":"5 ","pages":"1413171"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11371704/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142134658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in allergyPub Date : 2024-08-16eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1434461
Staffan Ahlstedt, Anna Bergström, Lennart Nilsson, Juho E Kivistö, Jennifer L P Protudjer
{"title":"Changes in epinephrine dispensings and allergy hospitalisations in Sweden in the years following the removal of autoinjector co-payments.","authors":"Staffan Ahlstedt, Anna Bergström, Lennart Nilsson, Juho E Kivistö, Jennifer L P Protudjer","doi":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1434461","DOIUrl":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1434461","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>To understand any possible healthcare system benefits and changes of behavior for the patients with the change in prescription co-payment in Sweden we aimed to provide an update on the trends of EAI dispensings and hospitalizations for the Swedish paediatric population (ages 0-19 years), from 2018 to 2022, including by sex and geographic region.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using publically-available, population-level aggregate data from Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare, we extracted information on annual epinephrine (ATC C01CA24) dispensings per 1,000 inhabitants from 2018 to 2023, overall, as well as stratified by sex, age groups and geographic region; and on inpatient stays 2018-2022 (ICD-10 code T78), anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions, per 100,000 individuals. We compared these estimates to those for adults ages 18 + years, for whom prescription co-payments remained in place.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>EAI dispensings remained stable for children and adults across the study period, with the exception of statistically significant decreases amongst dispensings for children across all ages in 2021 (6.65/1,000) and 2022 (7.37/1,000), compared to 2018 (8.63/1,000) (each year <i>p</i> = 0.03 compared to 2018 dispensings). National EAI dispensings did not statistically significantly differ from 2018 (8.63/1,000) to 2023 (6.70/1,000) amongst children. EAI dispensings for children ages 5 + years consistently exceed dispensings for adults per 1,000 inhabitants; only children aged 0-4 years had proportionately fewer dispensings. Children ages 0-4 years tended to be hospitalised more often than older children, albeit these differences were not statistically significant (all <i>p</i> > 0.97).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Subsequent to the removal of out-of-pocket costs for EAI, dispensings did not increase for children, although more EAI were dispensed to children from age 5 years, compared to younger children. Allergy-related hospitalisations were highest amongst children ages 0-4, lower amongst children ages 5-14 years, and again higher amongst those ages 15-19 years.</p>","PeriodicalId":73062,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in allergy","volume":"5 ","pages":"1434461"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11362073/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in allergyPub Date : 2024-08-15eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1403894
Dylan Beinart, Emily S Y Goh, Glen Boardman, Li Ping Chung
{"title":"Small airway dysfunction measured by impulse oscillometry is associated with exacerbations and poor symptom control in patients with asthma treated in a tertiary hospital subspecialist airways disease clinic.","authors":"Dylan Beinart, Emily S Y Goh, Glen Boardman, Li Ping Chung","doi":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1403894","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/falgy.2024.1403894","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Small airways dysfunction contributes to asthma pathophysiology and clinical outcomes including exacerbations and asthma control. Respiratory oscillometry is a simple, non-invasive and effort independent lung function test that provides vital information about small airway function. However, interpretation and clinical utility of respiratory oscillometry has been in part limited by lack of agreed parameters and the respective cutoffs. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of small airways dysfunction based on published impulse oscillometry (IOS) definition in patients with asthma referred to a tertiary asthma clinic and the extent to which it correlates with asthma clinical outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients with asthma managed in the severe asthma clinic between January 2019 and December 2022 who underwent routine lung function tests with oscillometry and spirometry. Small airways dysfunction was determined from various published IOS parameter cutoffs, and the data were analysed to determine correlations between IOS parameters and asthma outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Amongst the 148 patients, the prevalence of small airways dysfunction ranged from 53% to 78% depending on the defining oscillometry parameter. All oscillometry parameters correlated with the severity of airflow obstruction (FEV<sub>1</sub>% predicted, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Several oscillometry parameters correlated with asthma symptom burden, the strongest correlation was seen for frequency dependent resistance (R<sub>5</sub>-R<sub>20</sub>) with scores of Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ6) (Spearman's rank coefficient 0.213, <i>p</i> = 0.028) and Asthma Control Test (ACT) (Spearman's rank coefficient -0.248, <i>p</i> = 0.012). R<sub>5</sub>-R<sub>20</sub> was predictive of poor asthma control defined by ACQ6 >1.5 (OR 2.97, <i>p</i> = 0.022) or ACT <20 (OR 2.44, <i>p</i> = 0.055). Small airways dysfunction defined by R<sub>5</sub>-R<sub>20</sub> and area under the reactance curve (AX) also significantly increases asthma exacerbation risk (OR 2.60, <i>p</i> = 0.02 and OR 2.31, <i>p</i> = 0.03 respectively).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Respiratory oscillometry is a sensitive measure of small airways dysfunction that should complement spirometry in the routine assessment of asthma. Small airways dysfunction is highly prevalent in patients with asthma referred to a tertiary asthma clinic. R<sub>5</sub>-R<sub>20</sub> was the metric most predictive in identifying patients at risk of asthma exacerbations and poor asthma control.</p>","PeriodicalId":73062,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in allergy","volume":"5 ","pages":"1403894"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11358081/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in allergyPub Date : 2024-08-15eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1451846
Carolyn Damilola Ekpruke, Rachel Alford, Dustin Rousselle, Maksat Babayev, Shikha Sharma, Erik Parker, Kyle Davis, Christopher Hemmerich, Douglas B Rusch, Patricia Silveyra
{"title":"Sex-specific alterations in the gut and lung microbiome of allergen-induced mice.","authors":"Carolyn Damilola Ekpruke, Rachel Alford, Dustin Rousselle, Maksat Babayev, Shikha Sharma, Erik Parker, Kyle Davis, Christopher Hemmerich, Douglas B Rusch, Patricia Silveyra","doi":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1451846","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/falgy.2024.1451846","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Recent evidence has demonstrated that the microbiome is a driver of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of respiratory disease. Studies have indicated that bacterial metabolites produced in the gut and lung can impact lung inflammation and immune cell activity, affecting disease pathology. Despite asthma being a disease with marked sex differences, experimental work linking microbiomes and asthma has not considered the sex variable.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To test the hypothesis that the lung and gut microbial composition impacts allergic lung inflammation in a sex-specific manner, we evaluated lung and gut microbiome alterations in a mouse model of allergic inflammation and assessed their association with lung function and inflammation phenotypes. For this, we exposed male and female adult C57BL/6J mice intranasally to 25 µg of a house dust mite extract mix (HDM) daily, or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as control, for 5 weeks (<i>n</i> = 4-6/group). DNA from fecal pellets collected before and after the 5-week treatment, and from lung tissue collected at endpoint, was extracted using the ZymoBIOMICS®-96 MagBead DNA Kit and analyzed to determine the 16S microbiome via Targeted Metagenomic Sequencing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The HDM treatment induced a sex-specific allergic inflammation phenotype with significantly higher neutrophilia, lymphocytosis, inflammatory gene expression, and histopathological changes in females than males following exposure to HDM, but higher airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in males than females. In addition, sex-specific lung gene expression and associated pathways were identified HDM mix after challenge. These changes corresponded to sex-specific alterations in the gut microbiome, where the <i>Firmicutes</i> to <i>Bacteroidetes</i> ratio (F:B) was significantly reduced in fecal samples from only male mice after HDM challenge, and alpha diversity was increased in males, but decreased in females, after 5-weeks of HDM treatment.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Overall, our findings indicate that intranasal allergen challenge triggers sex-specific changes in both gut and lung microbiomes, and induces sex-specific lung inflammation, AHR, and lung inflammatory gene expression pathways, suggesting a contribution of the lung-gut axis in allergic airway disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":73062,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in allergy","volume":"5 ","pages":"1451846"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11358121/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in allergyPub Date : 2024-08-12eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1469718
Wai Tuck Soh, Alain Jacquet
{"title":"Editorial: The regulation of allergic responses by proteolysis: from protease allergens to host proteases modulation.","authors":"Wai Tuck Soh, Alain Jacquet","doi":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1469718","DOIUrl":"10.3389/falgy.2024.1469718","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73062,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in allergy","volume":"5 ","pages":"1469718"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11345248/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142074551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}