NeuroAllergy Research Laboratory (NARL), School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.
Deakin AIRwatch Pollen and Spore Counting and Forecasting Facility, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Apr 13;23(8):4313. doi: 10.3390/ijms23084313.
Despite making up a significant proportion of airborne allergens, the relationship between fungal spores and asthma is not fully explored. Only 80 taxa of fungi have so far been observed to exacerbate respiratory presentations, with spp., spp., spp., and spp. found to comprise the predominant allergenic airborne spores. Fungal spores have been found in indoor environments, such as hospitals and housing due to poor ventilation. Meanwhile, outdoor fungal spores exhibit greater diversity, and higher abundance and have been associated with hospitalizations from acute asthma presentations. In addition, fungal spores may be the underlying, and perhaps the "missing link", factor influencing the heightened rate of asthma presentations during epidemic thunderstorm asthma events. To improve our knowledge gap on fungal spores, airborne allergen monitoring must be improved to include not only dominant allergenic fungi but also provide real-time data to accurately and quickly warn the general public. Such data will help prevent future asthma exacerbations and thus save lives. In this review, we examine the health risks of prominent allergenic fungal taxa, the factors influencing spore dispersal and distribution, and why improvements should be made to current sampling methods for public health and wellbeing.
尽管真菌孢子在空气中的过敏原中占有很大比例，但真菌孢子与哮喘之间的关系尚未得到充分探索。迄今为止，仅观察到 80 种真菌会加重呼吸道表现，其中 spp.、 spp.、 spp. 和 spp. 被发现是主要的致敏空气孢子过敏原。由于通风不良，真菌孢子会在室内环境（如医院和住房）中出现。而室外真菌孢子则表现出更大的多样性、更高的丰度，并且与因急性哮喘发作而住院有关。此外，真菌孢子可能是影响暴发性雷雨哮喘事件中哮喘发作率升高的潜在因素，也许是“缺失的一环”。为了缩小我们在真菌孢子方面的知识差距，必须改进空气中过敏原监测，不仅要包括主要的过敏原真菌，还要提供实时数据，以便准确、快速地向公众发出警报。这些数据将有助于预防未来的哮喘恶化，从而拯救生命。在这篇综述中，我们研究了主要过敏原真菌类群的健康风险、孢子扩散和分布的影响因素，以及为什么要改进当前用于公共卫生和健康的采样方法。
