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Innate and Adaptive Immune Response to Fungal Products and Allergens
P Brock Williams1, Charles S Barnes1, Jay M Portnoy1
1Division of Allergy/Immunology, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Mo.
Abstract:
Exposure to fungi and their products is practically ubiquitous, yet most of this is of little consequence to most healthy individuals. This is because there are a number of elaborate mechanisms to deal with these exposures. Most of these mechanisms are designed to recognize and neutralize such exposures. However, in understanding these mechanisms it has become clear that many of them overlap with our ability to respond to disruptions in tissue function caused by trauma or deterioration. These responses involve the innate and adaptive immune systems usually through the activation of nuclear factor kappa B and the production of cytokines that are considered inflammatory accompanied by other factors that can moderate these reactivities. Depending on different genetic backgrounds and the extent of activation of these mechanisms, various pathologies with resulting symptoms can ensue. Complicating this is the fact that these mechanisms can bias toward type 2 innate and adaptive immune responses. Thus, to understand what we refer to as allergens from fungal sources, we must first understand how they influence these innate mechanisms. In doing so it has become clear that many of the proteins that are described as fungal allergens are essentially homologues of our own proteins that signal or cause tissue disruptions.
Insights
Fungal allergens often mimic the body's own proteins, triggering immune responses. Understanding innate immunity mechanisms is key to explaining how fungi cause allergic reactions.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Mycology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Fungal exposure is common, but typically harmless due to robust immune defenses.
- Immune responses to fungi share pathways with tissue repair mechanisms, involving nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and inflammatory cytokines.
- These pathways can lead to pathologies, particularly type 2 immune responses, depending on genetic factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the mechanisms by which fungal components induce immune responses.
- To understand the relationship between fungal allergens and the host's innate immune system.
- To explore how fungal proteins interact with tissue repair and inflammatory pathways.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on fungal immunology and innate immunity.
- Analysis of molecular pathways involved in immune recognition of fungal products.
- Comparison of fungal allergen structures with endogenous human proteins.
Main Results:
- Fungal allergens are frequently homologous to self-proteins involved in tissue homeostasis and repair.
- Immune responses to fungi activate conserved pathways, including NF-κB signaling and cytokine production.
- These shared pathways explain the potential for fungal allergens to induce inflammatory and type 2 immune responses.
Conclusions:
- Fungal allergens function by hijacking endogenous signaling pathways.
- Understanding the homology between fungal allergens and self-proteins is crucial for explaining allergic sensitization.
- Targeting these conserved immune mechanisms may offer new therapeutic strategies for fungal allergies.
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