Toxins from mold food opens the door for respiratory diseases read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/1018-toxins-from-mold-food-opens-the-door-for-respiratory-diseases

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania suggests, Toxins from mold foods can weaken the airways self-clearing mechanisms and immunity, opening the door for respiratory diseases and inflame existing ones.

Poisonous and cancer-causing, aflatoxins are a type of mycotoxins produced by certain fungi growing in certain foods.

In laboratory imaging experiments, researchers showed that acute exposure to aflatoxins slowed down and impaired key defense mechanisms in the airways, including mucosal ciliary clearance (MCC) and ciliary beat frequency (CBF).

The results suggest that aflatoxins enhance the pathogenicity of the fungi and possibly other co-infecting pathogens, such as bacteria.

Robert J. Lee, PhD, and Noam A. Cohen, MD, PhD, assistant professors in the departments of Otorhinolaryngology at Penn, said, with these defenses Patients may become more susceptible to upper respiratory infections and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) that can be seed lower respiratory infections, especially in those with a compromised immune system.

It can also worsen the lung diseases. In immune compromised individuals or poorly controlled diabetics, upper airway Aspergillus infections can invade the mucosa and underlying tissue and become lethal, so it is particularly critical to understand its interactions with the airway epithelium.

The Penn researchers found that the fungal toxins activate protein kinase C (PKC), which decreases CBF and MCC. That increased kinase activity presents a potential treatment opportunity.

PKC inhibitors are anti-inflammatory drugs that have been shown to be efficacious in cardiovascular disease and some mental health disorders. In the study, the team found that CBF reductions were blocked by the PKC inhibitors Go-6983 and calphostin C, suggesting that drugs with similar activity could potentially be used to treat the fungal infection and prevent further co-infections.

Importantly, the use of such drugs to treat the infections may lessen the need for patients as well as livestock and pets. PKC inhibitors may decrease fungal respiratory disease and ultimately help alleviate some of those consequences.