Sensitivity patterns to fungal allergens in the population of Vinnytsya region

Abstract

Fungi are ubiquitous living beings present in the indoor and outdoor environment. Spores and mycelium of fungi carried by air have a great impact on ecology, the economy, in particular on agriculture, as well as on human health. It has been established that the incidence of fungal pathologies has increased rapidly over the past two decades. Fungi can cause allergies, and can be infectious agents, especially in immunocompomised people. Fungal spores are powerful sources of allergenic molecules covering a wide range of biochemical classes. Together with the fungal mycelium, they can cause the development of hypersensitivity, which is one of the most common pathological immune responses. Currently, known fungal aeroallergens are found in 3 fungal classes – Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, and Zygomycota. Therefore, the goal of our work was to determine the level of sensitivity to fungal allergens in the population of Vinnytsya region in order to prevent allergies caused by fungi. Data analysis of IgE-mediated, genuine, sensitization to fungal allergens of Alternaria (Alt a 1, Alt a 6), Cladosporium (Cla h, Cla h 8), Aspergillus (Asp f 1, Asp f 3, Asp f 4, Asp f 6), Penicillium (Pen ch), Malassezia (Mala s 11, Mala s 5, Mala s 6) and Saccharomyces (Sac c) was carried out using a component-resolved allergy diagnostics by ALEX2 test. The data of 87 residents of the Vinnytsya region aged 1 to 66 who underwent molecular allergy diagnostics in 2020–2022 were taken into account. Sensitivity to fungal allergens was observed in 20 patients or 23.0% of those tested. Among them, the highest level of sensitivity, in 15 patients or 75% of the number of sensitive individuals, was observed for the Alternaria fungus. The allergen component Alt a 1 caused high and very high levels of sensitization in 3 and 7 patients, respectively. Sensitivity to Aspergillus and Malassezia had the second highest rate: 6 patients or 30% of sensitized individuals were sensitive to these two fungal allergens. Alternaria was the most important fungal agent causing sensitization of the examined population of Vinnytsya region. Aspergillus allergens, known for their ability to cause both allergic and infectious reactions, were next in clinical importance. Cladosporium, which usually produce a highest number of spores in the atmosphere among all fungi, was characterized by low allergenicity. High levels of both specific and total immunoglobulin E can be prognostic markers of clinical manifestations of fungal allergy. This information should be taken into account for the prevention of fungal allergy among the population when creating allergy forecasts.

Keywords

• fungal allergy; allergic sensitization; component-resolved allergy diagnostics; alternaria; malassezia; aspergillus