title: Investigation of inflammatory and allergic responses to common mold species: Results from in vitro experiments, from a mouse model of asthma, and from a group of asthmatic patients.
abstract: Most studies on molds focus on Alternaria alternata and Aspergillus fumigatus. Here, we report on inflammatory and allergenic properties of more typical indoor species Aspergillus versicolor, P. chrysogenum, C. cladosporioïdes, and C. sphaerospermum that were compared to A. alternata and A. fumigatus. In a mouse model, after intranasal instillation, A. alternaria, A. versicolor, and C. sphaerospermum induced the early recruitment of neutrophils and the strong expression of inflammatory markers in the bronchoalveolar lavages fluids. A. fumigatus also induced the early accumulation of neutrophils but with lower levels of inflammatory markers. Chronic treatment induced variable response according to species: P. chrysogenum and A. fumigatus appeared strong pro-allergenic inducers compared to A. alternata and C. sphaerospermum while A. versicolor and C. cladosporioides induced a mixed pro-allergenic/pro-inflammatory response. In mold-sensitized asthmatics, mold-specific Immunoglobulin E (IgE) were detected with an in-house dot-blot assay. A. fumigatus and A. alternata were the most frequent sensitizers. Altogether, P. chrysogenum, P. brevicompactum, C. sphaerospermum, and C. cladosporïoides were the "major sensitizer" (defined as the strongest response against a single mold species) for almost 30% of the asthmatics. These results show that, not only A. alternata and A. fumigatus, but also indoor species have strong inflammatory and allergic properties and a harmful potency.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Service Immunology, WIV-ISP, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8152-9103
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.affiliation: Scientific Service Immunology, WIV-ISP, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Percier
authors.affiliation: Scientific Service Immunology, WIV-ISP, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Prins
authors.affiliation: Scientific Service Immunology, WIV-ISP, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huygen
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche en Biologie des Microorganismes, Laboratoire d'Immunologie et de Microbiologie, NARILIS, Université de Namur, Namur, Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Potemberg
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche en Biologie des Microorganismes, Laboratoire d'Immunologie et de Microbiologie, NARILIS, Université de Namur, Namur, Belgium.|Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Muraille
authors.affiliation: Scientific Service Immunology, WIV-ISP, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Immunology and Allergology, CHU Brugmann, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: Scientific Service Immunology, WIV-ISP, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Denis
mesh_terms: D000391:Air Microbiology; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D000528:Alternaria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; D002963:Cladosporium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology*; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010407:Penicillium / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007073:Immunoglobulin E
keywords: asthma; dot-blot assay; indoor molds; inflammatory properties of molds; mold sensitization; mouse model of asthma