Mycotoxins: contributors for the establishment of an allergenic response?

Assunção, Ricardo; Antunes, Célia; Costa, Ana; Alvito, Paula

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/5751

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Abstract(s)

Allergic disorders, including atopic dermatitis, food allergy, allergic rhinitis, and asthma, affect more than 1 billion persons across the globe, and their prevalence is expected to quadruple by the 2050s1. Food allergy (FA) is defined as an adverse immune response to ingested food proteins, mediated by food-specific IgE and degranulation of mast cells. FA’s symptoms could range from urticaria to life-threatening anaphylaxis2. In the last 20 years, the rates of IgE-mediated FA have increased globally, particularly in developed countries, which is far faster than could be accountable solely by genomic changes. Thus, the pathophysiology of FA development has been associated to a complex interplay of prenatal and postnatal environmental factors related to lifestyle, diet, and other exposures, in the context of a genetically susceptible background3. The specific mechanisms by which lifestyle and environmental factors modify disease risk remain unclear, although their effects appear to be most potent during early immune development. It is recognized that intestinal epithelial stress or damage may contribute to allergic sensitization against certain food antigens. Considering this, it could be hypothesised that compounds that could affect intestinal homeostasis, as food contaminants, could contribute to allergic sensitization. Mycotoxins, chemical food contaminants produced by fungi, could affect intestinal integrity, through reduction of intestinal barrier function (mainly by perturbation of tight junctions and transmembrane proteins) and/or interference on immune cells of the intestinal mucosa4. A recent study reported that a known mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, facilitates allergic sensitization to food proteins and can be induced by different molecular mechanisms and local immune responses5. This presentation will discuss results that highlight the potential contribution of food contaminants to elicit or aggravate allergenic sensitization to certain food allergens in susceptible individuals, trying to shed light on the question: are mycotoxins contributors for the establishment of an allergenic response?