ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Allergy
Sec. Environmental & Occupational Determinants
Combined exposure to shrimp tropomyosin and microbial components triggers enhanced allergic and inflammatory responses in vitro
Provisionally accepted
Fikirte Debebe Zegeye1,2*
Steen Mollerup1
Mayes Alswady-Hoff1
Annette Kuehn3
Sabina Burla4,5
Anne Straumfors1
Johanna Samulin Erdem1*- 1National Institute of Occupational Health, Oslo, Norway
- 2Universitetet i Oslo Det medisinske fakultet, Oslo, Norway
- 3Luxembourg Institute of Health Department of Infection and Immunity, EschsurAlzette, Luxembourg
- 4Invitrolize SARL, Belvaux, Luxembourg
- 5Universitatea de Stiinte Agricole si Medicina Veterinara Cluj-Napoca Facultatea de Stiinta si Tehnologia Alimentelor, ClujNapoca, Romania
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Abstract Introduction: Workers in the shellfish industry face increased risks of allergy and asthma due to complex bioaerosol exposures in the workplace. This study aimed to assess whether combined exposure to the main components of these aerosols, specifically allergens and microbial agents, can potentiate inflammatory and allergic responses. Methods: THP-1 monocytes and advanced human alveolar co-cultures model ALIsens® were exposed to shrimp tropomyosin (0.0049, 1.3 and 2.6 µg/mL), and components from Gram-positive bacteria; lipoteichoic acid (0.25 - 4 µg/mL), and fungi; zymosan (6.25 - 100 µg/mL), either alone or in combination. The effects on the gene expression and protein secretion of chemokines and cytokines were assessed by RT-qPCR and ELISA or Luminex. Results: Combined exposure to tropomyosin and lipoteichoic acid resulted in increased CCL20, CCL2, TNF and IL8 expression and CCL20 and TNF protein secretion in THP-1 cells, when compared to individual exposure. Similarly, tropomyosin combined with zymosan elicited a similar response pattern, characterised by increased expression and secretion of chemokines and cytokines in most of the tested combinations. Furthermore, the increased secretion of CCL20 and expression of CCL2 following combined exposure to tropomyosin and lipoteichoic acid were confirmed in the alveolar co-culture model, while no effects in combination with zymosan were observed. Conclusion: These findings suggest that microbial components in shellfish industry bioaerosols may enhance the immunological responses caused by inhaled allergens in an additive manner, highlighting the need to minimise microbial contamination in workplaces where allergen exposure is prevalent.
Keywords: allergy, Additive effects, Bioaerosol exposure, Inflammatory markers, occupationalexposure, Shrimp allergens, Tropomyosin, Zymosan
Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 05 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zegeye, Mollerup, Alswady-Hoff, Kuehn, Burla, Straumfors and Samulin Erdem. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Fikirte Debebe Zegeye, fikirte.zegeye@stami.no
Johanna Samulin Erdem, johanna.samulin-erdem@stami.no
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