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Member of Project 1 publish research article titled “Fungal exposure exacerbates allergen-driven asthma in a two-hit mouse model”.

July 15, 2026
Fungal–allergen dual exposure amplifies airway inflammation. Representative H&E-stained lung sections from control, ASP-only, OVA-only, and OVA + ASP mice (A) and from control, ALT-only, OVA-only, and OVA + ALT mice (B) show increased inflammatory cell infiltration and architectural distortion in OVA+fungus groups. Scale bars, 1 mm and 100 μm. Inflammation severity was assessed by blind semiquantitative scoring. Statistics: one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test. Abbreviations: OVA, ovalbumin; ASP, Asperg

Members of the Project 1 team published a research article titled “Fungal exposure exacerbates allergen-driven asthma in a two-hit mouse model” in the Respiratory Research journal in April 2026. This study developed a clinically relevant mouse model of fungal-driven asthma exacerbation by exposing ovalbumin-sensitized mice to live Aspergillus fumigatus or Alternaria alternata spores. Compared with spores or allergen alone, the combined exposure produced markedly worse airway inflammation, remodeling, and lung dysfunction, accompanied by mixed type 2/type 17 immune responses and increased TIMP1 expression. These findings establish a translational model that closely mimics fungus-associated asthma exacerbations and may help evaluate new therapies and remodeling-related biomarkers.

Mei, Shuya, et al. “Fungal Exposure Exacerbates Allergen-Driven Asthma in a Two-Hit Mouse Model”. Respiratory Research, vol. 27, no. 215, Apr. 2026, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-026-03684-5.