Fungal Allergen Decreases CD44 Expression in Bronchial Epithelium and Impairs Healing

Pen ch 13 is an alkaline serine protease and a major allergen from Penicillium chrysogenum. CD44 adhesion molecules play important roles in resolving lung inflammation and repairing epithelial damages during bronchial asthma.

Pen ch 13 allergen down-regulated CD44 protein expression in airway epithelial cells. It may contribute to atopic asthma by influencing the resolution of lung inflammation and prolonging the repair response of damaged bronchial epithelial cells.


Various fungi including Penicillium and Aspergillus spp. growing in axenic culture. Image source: Wikipedia, Dr. David Midgley Cultures: Dr. David Midgley University of Sydney, Australia, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.

References:
Pen ch 13 Major Fungal Allergen Decreases CD44 Expression in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells. Tai HY, Tam MF, Chou H, Perng DW, Shen HD. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2010 Jun 17;153(4):367-371.