The Acari Hypothesis, III: Atopic Dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic relapsing dermatopathology involving IgE against allergenic materials present on mammalian epithelial surfaces. Allergens are as diverse as pet danders, and polypeptides expressed by microbes of the mammalian microbiome, e.g., Malassezia spp. The Acari Hypothesis posits that the mammalian innate immune system utilizes pathogen-bound acarian immune effectors to protect against the vectorial threat posed by mites and ticks. Per The Hypothesis, IgE-mediated allergic disease is a specious consequence of the pairing of acarian gastrointestinal materials, e.g., allergenic foodstuffs, with acarian innate immune effectors that have interspecies operability. In keeping with The Hypothesis, the IgE profile of atopic patients should include both anti-acarian antibodies and specious antibodies responsible for specific allergy. Further, the profile should inform on the diet and/or environment of the acarian vector. In this regard, the prevalence of Demodex and Dermatophagoides on the skin of persons suffering from atopic dermatitis is increased. Importantly, the diets of these mites correspond well with the allergens of affected patients. In this report, roles for these specific acarians in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis are proposed and elaborated.

The Acari Hypothesis, IV: revisiting the role of hygiene in allergy

“…The second installment provides how such dietary elements, when transmitted to a human, elicit IgE ( 2 ). The third installment relates the first two to atopic dermatitis, the prototypical allergic disease ( 3 ). This installment of The Hypothesis, the fourth, provides rationale for the ongoing allergy epidemic.…”

“…According to The Hypothesis, the induction of an allergic disease requires that causative acarians be present on human epithelium ( 1 – 3 ). In keeping with α-gal sensitization, the number of infesting organisms need not be great ( 15 – 17 ).…”