ABSTRACT
Allergic diseases affect millions of people and have shown a marked increase in recent years, particularly in industrialised nations (D’Amato et al. 2010). Allergens that cause disease include environmental allergens such as pollen, food, animal dander, and various fungi. Fungal spores and mycelial cells are two of the main factors causing several allergic diseases, including asthma, rhinitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, certain occupational lung diseases, fungal sinusitis, toxic pneumonia and allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis (ABPM) (Vijay et al. 2005). This broad panel of diseases results from the particular biology of each mould. Fungi are very common in the environment; therefore, the exposure to airborne spores is almost constant throughout the year. The inhalation and ingestion of fungal spores and vegetative cells (hyphae) may result in the colonization of the human body, and these particles may damage airways by producing toxins, proteases, enzymes (Kauffman et al. 2000) and volatile organic compounds (Fischer et al. 1999). Thus, moulds have a far greater impact on the immune systems of patients than other allergenic sources (Simon-Nobbe et al. 2008).
