Fungal chitin is not an independent mediator of allergic fungal asthma severity

Abstract

Humans with asthma sensitized to fungi often have more severe asthma than those who are not fungal-sensitized. Chitin makes up a significant portion of the cell wall of fungi and has been implicated as a pathogenic factor in allergic asthma. Ellis et al. demonstrate that chronic exposure to fungal chitin alone is unable to modulate lung function, even in the presence of differential lung chitinase activity.