allergic respiratory disease

[Guest guest]

This is an abstract of an article written by a reseacher at Mayo Clinic. I

don't understand all of it, but find it interesting that the author implicates

the possibility of mold being a cause of increased respiratory symptoms in

people working in water damaged buildings. And also the fact that it doesn't

have to be a true " allergy " in the strict sense of the word.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=Abstra\

ct & list_uids=15536399 & query_hl=4 & itool=pubmed_docsum

The role of protease activation of inflammation in allergic respiratory

diseases.

(J Allergy Clin Immunol 2004;114:997-1008.)

E. , MD, and Hirohito Kita, MD Rochester, Minn

Extracellular endogenous proteases, as well as exogenous proteases from mites

and molds, react with cell-surface

receptors in the airways to generate leukocyte in & #64257;ltration and to amplify

the response to allergens. Stimulation leads to increased intracellular Ca and

gene transcription. The most thoroughly investigated receptors,

protease-activated receptors

(PARs), are 7-transmembrane proteins coupled to G proteins.PARs are widely

distributed on the cells of the airways, where

they contribute to the in & #64258;ammation characteristic of allergic diseases.

PAR stimulation of epithelial cells opens tight

junctions, causes desquamation, and produces cytokines, chemokines, and growth

factors. They degranulate eosinophils

and mast cells. Proteases contract bronchial smooth muscle and cause it to

proliferate. PARs also promote maturation,

proliferation, and collagen production of & #64257;broblast precursors and mature

& #64257;broblasts. PAR-2, apparently the most important

of the 4 PARs that have been characterized, is increased on the epithelium of

patients with asthma. Trypsin, a product of

injured epithelial cells, and mast cell tryptase are potent activators of PAR-2.

Mast cell chymase activates PAR-1.

Proteases from mites and molds appear to act through similar receptors. They

amplify IgE production to allergens,

degranulate eosinophils, and can generate in & #64258;ammation, even in the

absence of IgE. ... Finally, proteases from mites and fungi growing in damp,

water-damaged buildings might be the basis for the

increased prevalence in these buildings of rhinitis, asthma, and other

respiratory diseases.

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