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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Mucosal Immunity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1505003

Ingested house dust mite favours sensitization to egg white in mice independently of its proteinase activity

Provisionally accepted
Sara Benedé Sara Benedé *Leticia Pérez-Rodríguez Leticia Pérez-Rodríguez David Menchén-Martínez David Menchén-Martínez Elena Molina Elena Molina Rosina López-Fandiño Rosina López-Fandiño
  • Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: It is well documented that house dust mite (HDM) exposure can cause tissue damage and activate innate immune responses. However, its role in promoting gastrointestinal sensitization and allergenicity to food proteins has been relatively unexplored. Methods: This study investigates the immunostimulatory effects of HDM in a murine model of oral sensitization to egg white (EW) in the absence of exogenous adjuvants. Additionally, we examined a proteolytically inactivated form of HDM (iHDM) to assess the contribution of HDM protease activity to its adjuvant potential. Results: Both HDM and iHDM enhanced allergic responses to EW proteins via the oral route, evidenced by mast cell degranulation in the intestinal tract upon EW challenge. Notably, only iHDM induced detectable concentrations of serum EW-specific IgE and IgG1 antibodies. While HDM increased intestinal expression of genes encoding tight junction proteins and Th2-inducing alarmins to a greater extent than iHDM, active proteinases were not required for its adjuvant activity, as iHDM preferentially promoted Th2 responses in intestinal lymphoid tissues. Conclusions: These findings suggest that ingestion of environmental dust may contribute to food allergy development and highlight the complex and context-dependent nature of the adjuvant activity of HDM.

    Keywords: food allergy, house dust mite, egg white, oral sensitization Abbreviations: DCs, dendritic cells, HDM, house dust mite, iHDM, proteolytically inactive house dust mite, EW, egg white, ILC2, group 2 innate lymphoid cells, LP, lamina propria, LPS, lipopolysaccharide, MLNs, mesenteric lymph nodes

    Received: 01 Oct 2024; Accepted: 18 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Benedé, Pérez-Rodríguez, Menchén-Martínez, Molina and López-Fandiño. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sara Benedé, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

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