Allergic Responses Induced by a Fungal BiopesticideMetarhizium anisopliaeand House Dust Mite Are Compared in a Mouse Model

Abstract

Biopesticides can be effective in controlling their target pest. However, research regarding allergenicity and asthma development is limited. We compared the ability of fungal biopesticide Metarhizium anisopliae (MACA) and house dust mite (HDM) extracts to induce allergic responses in BALB/c mice. The extracts were administered by intratracheal aspiration at doubling doses (2.5–80 μg protein) 4X over a four-week period. Three days after the last exposure, serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected. The extracts' relative allergenicity was evaluated based on response robustness (lowest significant dose response compared to control (0 μg)). MACA induced a more robust serum total IgE response than HDM. However, in the antigen-specific IgE assay, a similar dose of both MACA and HDM was required to achieve the same response level. Our data suggest a threshold dose of MACA for allergy induction and that M. anisopliae may be similar to HDM in allergy induction potential.

Modulation of Human Immune Response by Fungal Biocontrol Agents

“…Nevertheless, the importance of exposure time, the potential of different fungal species and molecular components responsible for damage and symptoms are still unknown. A common mechanism associated with allergy triggered by biocontrol agents such as B. bassiana (Westwood et al, 2005 , 2006 ), Metarhizium anisopliae (Ward et al, 2011 ), Paecilomyces and Trichoderma viride (Beezhold et al, 2008 ), and Penicillium oxalicum (Kochar et al, 2014 ) is the production of IgE against fungal molecules observed in animal models and human patients.…”