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Grewling Ł, Ribeiro H, Antunes C, Apangu GP, Çelenk S, Costa A, Eguiluz-Gracia I, Galveias A, Gonzalez Roldan N, Lika M, Magyar D, Martinez-Bracero M, Ørby P, O'Connor D, Penha AM, Pereira S, Pérez-Badia R, Rodinkova V, Xhetani M, Šauliene I, Skjøth CA. Outdoor airborne allergens: Characterization, behavior and monitoring in Europe. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 905:167042. [PMID: 37709071 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Aeroallergens or inhalant allergens, are proteins dispersed through the air and have the potential to induce allergic conditions such as rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma. Outdoor aeroallergens are found predominantly in pollen grains and fungal spores, which are allergen carriers. Aeroallergens from pollen and fungi have seasonal emission patterns that correlate with plant pollination and fungal sporulation and are strongly associated with atmospheric weather conditions. They are released when allergen carriers come in contact with the respiratory system, e.g. the nasal mucosa. In addition, due to the rupture of allergen carriers, airborne allergen molecules may be released directly into the air in the form of micronic and submicronic particles (cytoplasmic debris, cell wall fragments, droplets etc.) or adhered onto other airborne particulate matter. Therefore, aeroallergen detection strategies must consider, in addition to the allergen carriers, the allergen molecules themselves. This review article aims to present the current knowledge on inhalant allergens in the outdoor environment, their structure, localization, and factors affecting their production, transformation, release or degradation. In addition, methods for collecting and quantifying aeroallergens are listed and thoroughly discussed. Finally, the knowledge gaps, challenges and implications associated with aeroallergen analysis are described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Łukasz Grewling
- Laboratory of Aerobiology, Department of Systematic and Environmental Botany, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
| | - Helena Ribeiro
- Department of Geosciences, Environment and Spatial Plannings of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto and Earth Sciences Institute (ICT), Portugal
| | - Celia Antunes
- Department of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Health and Human Development & ICT-Institute of Earth Sciences, IIFA, University of Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
| | | | - Sevcan Çelenk
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey
| | - Ana Costa
- Department of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Health and Human Development & ICT-Institute of Earth Sciences, IIFA, University of Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
| | - Ibon Eguiluz-Gracia
- Allergy Unit, Hospital Regional Universitario de Malaga, Malaga 29010, Spain
| | - Ana Galveias
- Department of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Health and Human Development & ICT-Institute of Earth Sciences, IIFA, University of Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
| | - Nestor Gonzalez Roldan
- Group of Biofunctional Metabolites and Structures, Priority Research Area Chronic Lung Diseases, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Borstel, Germany; Pollen Laboratory, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Mirela Lika
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania
| | - Donát Magyar
- National Center for Public Health and Pharmacy, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Pia Ørby
- Department of Environmental Science, Danish Big Data Centre for Environment and Health (BERTHA) Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - David O'Connor
- School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin D09 E432, Ireland
| | - Alexandra Marchã Penha
- Water Laboratory, School of Sciences and Technology, ICT-Institute of Earth Sciences, IIFA, University of Évora. 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
| | - Sónia Pereira
- Department of Geosciences, Environment and Spatial Plannings of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto and Earth Sciences Institute (ICT), Portugal
| | - Rosa Pérez-Badia
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
| | | | - Merita Xhetani
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania
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Juprasong Y, Songnuan W. Plant Stress Scenarios Differentially Affect Expression and IgE Reactivity of Grass Group-1 Allergen (β-Expansin) in Maize and Rice Pollen. FRONTIERS IN ALLERGY 2022; 3:807387. [PMID: 35386660 PMCID: PMC8974862 DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2022.807387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Grass pollen is among the most common outdoor aeroallergens eliciting pollen allergies throughout the world. Grass group-1 allergen or β-expansin is recognized as a major pollen allergen, particularly in the grass family Poaceae. Expression of β-expansin has been shown to be dynamic and can be influenced by environmental stresses. This study evaluated the relative expression of β-expansin and IgE-binding ability of crude pollen extract protein of rice and maize under three different stress conditions: flood, salt, and drought. After 1 week of treatments, anthers containing pollen were collected followed by RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis. To evaluate relative expression, qRT-PCR was performed using specific primers for β-expansin and reference genes. Physiological characteristics of treated and untreated maize and rice: plant height; fresh weight of anthers; number of inflorescences, anthers, and pollen grains were also recorded. To assess IgE-binding ability of proteins in rice pollen extracts, soluble crude proteins were extracted and IgE immunoblot and ELISA were performed using serum samples from grass-allergic subjects and healthy control donors. Results showed that plant height, fresh weight of anthers, number of inflorescences, anthers, and pollen grains of both maize and rice decreased significantly under drought stress conditions, but not in other conditions. Expression of β-expansin in pollen of rice showed an apparent increase in all stress treatments relative to control samples. In contrast, a significant decrease of β-expansin expression was detected in maize pollen under all stress-treated conditions. IgE-reactive protein bands from rice pollen extract proteins were ~30 kDa, as expected of the grass-group 1 protein. The intensity of IgE-reactive protein bands and the level of IgE to rice pollen proteins showed significant differences among stress conditions. In conclusion, environmental stresses—flood, salt, and drought, can elicit a change of β-expansin expression and IgE reactivity to grass group-1 pollen allergens. Changes in expression level of this gene likely reflected its importance during stress. However, the response is highly dependent on different schemes employed by each plant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yotin Juprasong
- Graduate Program in Toxicology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Center of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Systems Biology of Diseases Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Wisuwat Songnuan
- Center of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Systems Biology of Diseases Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- *Correspondence: Wisuwat Songnuan
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Suanno C, Aloisi I, Parrotta L, Fernández-González D, Del Duca S. Allergenic risk assessment of urban parks: Towards a standard index. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 200:111436. [PMID: 34087192 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Allergenicity indices are a powerful tool to assess the health hazard posed by urban parks to pollen allergic subjects. Nonetheless, only few indices have been developed and applied to urban vegetation in the last decade, and they were never compared nor standardised over the same dataset. To address this issue, in this paper the two best-known allergenicity indices, the Urban Green Zones Allergenicity Index (IUGZA) and the Specific Allergenicity Index (SAI), have been calculated for the same park (the Botanical Garden of Bologna), collecting vegetation data through both systematic sampling and arboreal census. The results obtained with the two data collection methods were comparable for both indices, indicating systematic sampling as a reliable approximation of the total census. Besides, the allergenic risk resulted moderate to high according to SAI, and very low according to IUGZA. Since SAI does not consider the total volume of the vegetation, it was deemed less reliable than IUGZA in evaluating the allergenicity of an enclosed green space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Suanno
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Iris Aloisi
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
| | - Luigi Parrotta
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Delia Fernández-González
- Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, ISAC-CNR, Via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy; Department Biodiversity and Environmental Management, University of León, 24071, Callejón Campus Vegazana, s/n, 24007 León, Spain
| | - Stefano Del Duca
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy
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Telloli C, Chicca M, Leis M, Vaccaro C. Fungal spores and pollen in particulate matter collected during agricultural activities in the Po Valley (Italy). J Environ Sci (China) 2016; 46:229-240. [PMID: 27521955 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2016.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2015] [Revised: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 02/29/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Airborne particulate matter (PM) containing fungal spores and pollen grains was sampled within a monitoring campaign of wheat threshing, plowing and sowing agricultural operations. Fungal spores and pollen grains were detected and identified on morphological basis. No studies were previously available about fungal spore and pollen content in agricultural PM in the Po Valley. Sampling was conducted in a Po Valley farmland in Mezzano (Ferrara, Italy). The organic particles collected were examined by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. Fungal spores and pollen grains were identified when possible at the level of species. The most frequent components of the organic particles sampled were spores of Aspergillus sp., which could represent a risk of developing allergies and aspergillosis for crop farmers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Telloli
- Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Technical Unit for Environmental Assessment Models, Methods and Technologies (UTVALAMB), Air Quality Laboratory (AIR), 40129 Bologna, Italy.
| | - Milvia Chicca
- Department of Life Science and Biotechnologies, Ferrara University, Italy
| | - Marilena Leis
- Department of Life Science and Biotechnologies, Ferrara University, Italy
| | - Carmela Vaccaro
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Ferrara University, Italy
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San Nicoló M, Braun T, Eder K, Berghaus A, Gröger M. Clinical Relevance of IgE to Profilin and/or Polcalcin in Pollen-Sensitized Patients. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2016; 169:101-7. [PMID: 27042855 DOI: 10.1159/000444279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Component-resolved diagnostics is gaining importance in allergy diagnostics. Allergen extracts contain components with different rates of prevalence and clinical relevance, which can be subdivided at molecular level into major and minor allergens. Clinical complaints are usually triggered by major allergens, while the role of sensitization to the panallergens profilin and polcalcin still remains unclear. METHODS Eighty-six patients from southern Bavaria with sensitization to the panallergens profilin (Bet v 2/Phl p 12) and/or polcalcin (Bet v 4/Phl p 7) were examined in regard to their sensitization to the 4 main botanic denominations Betulaceae, Oleaceae, Poaceae and Asteraceae by skin prick test and measurement of specific immunoglobulin E antibodies to natural allergen extracts as well as major allergen components rPhl p 1/5, rBet v 1, rOle e 1 and nArt v 1. Sensitization was rated as clinically relevant or irrelevant depending on anamnesis or intranasal allergen challenge. RESULTS Regarding the 4 botanic denominations, there was no significant difference in the incidence of sensitization to the panallergens profilin, polcalcin or both. The sensitization pattern does not alter when subdividing the cohort into clinically relevant and silent sensitization. We did not find clinically symptomatic sensitization to panallergens without cosensitization to a major allergen. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that sole sensitization to panallergens seems to have no clinical relevance in allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Clinical complaints seem to be triggered manly by major allergens. Thus, component-resolved allergy diagnostics is crucial in the diagnosis and treatment of polysensitized patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion San Nicoló
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany
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