The commensal fungus Wallemia mellicola enhances asthma in mice through Dectin-2.

Overgrowth of the fungus Wallemia mellicola in the intestines of mice enhances the severity of asthma. W. mellicola interacts with the immune system through Dectin-2 expressed on the surface of myeloid and intestinal epithelial cells. Using Dectin-2 deficient mice, we show that the interaction of W. mellicola with Dectin-2 is essential for the gut-lung pathways enhancing the severity of asthma in mice with W. mellicola intestinal dysbiosis. These findings offer better insight into dysbiosis-associated inflammation and highlight the role pattern recognition receptors have in immune recognition of commensal fungi in the gut leading to alterations in immune function in the lungs.