Horner W E, Helbling A, Salvaggio J E, Lehrer S B
Department of Medicine, Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, USA.
Clin Microbiol Rev. 1995 Apr;8(2):161-79. doi: 10.1128/CMR.8.2.161.
Airborne fungal spores occur widely and often in far greater concentrations than pollen grains. Immunoglobulin E-specific antigens (allergens) on airborne fungal spores induce type I hypersensitivity (allergic) respiratory reactions in sensitized atopic subjects, causing rhinitis and/or asthma. The prevalence of respiratory allergy to fungi is imprecisely known but is estimated at 20 to 30% of atopic (allergy-predisposed) individuals or up to 6% of the general population. Diagnosis and immunotherapy of allergy to fungi require well-characterized or standardized extracts that contain the relevant allergen(s) of the appropriate fungus. Production of standardized extracts is difficult since fungal extracts are complex mixtures and a variety of fungi are allergenic. Thus, the currently available extracts are largely nonstandardized, even uncharacterized, crude extracts. Recent significant progress in isolating and characterizing relevant fungal allergens is summarized in the present review. Particularly, some allergens from the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, and Cladosporium are now thoroughly characterized, and allergens from several other genera, including some basidiomycetes, have also been purified. The availability of these extracts will facilitate definitive studies of fungal allergy prevalence and immunotherapy efficacy as well as enhance both the diagnosis and therapy of fungal allergy.
空气传播的真菌孢子广泛存在，其浓度通常远高于花粉粒。空气传播的真菌孢子上的免疫球蛋白E特异性抗原（过敏原）会在致敏的特应性个体中引发I型超敏反应（过敏）性呼吸道反应，导致鼻炎和/或哮喘。对真菌的呼吸道过敏患病率尚不清楚，但估计在20%至30%的特应性（易过敏）个体中存在，或在普通人群中高达6%。真菌过敏的诊断和免疫疗法需要含有适当真菌相关过敏原的特征明确或标准化提取物。由于真菌提取物是复杂的混合物，且多种真菌具有致敏性，因此生产标准化提取物很困难。因此，目前可用的提取物大多是非标准化的，甚至是未经鉴定的粗提取物。本综述总结了在分离和鉴定相关真菌过敏原方面最近取得的重大进展。特别是，链格孢属、曲霉属和枝孢属的一些过敏原现在已得到充分鉴定，包括一些担子菌在内的其他几个属的过敏原也已被纯化。这些提取物的可用性将有助于对真菌过敏患病率和免疫疗法疗效进行确定性研究，并提高真菌过敏的诊断和治疗水平。
