Type:
Whole Allergen
Whole Allergen
d71 Lepidoglyphus destructor
d71 Lepidoglyphus destructor Scientific Information
Display Name:
Lepidoglyphus destructor
Route of Exposure:
Inhalation
Family:
Glycyphagidae
Species:
Lepidoglyphus destructor
Latin Name:
Lepidoglyphus destructor
Other Names:
Groceries mite, sugar mite
Summary
Lepidoglyphus destructor is one of the Glycyphagidae family of storage mites, and is known commonly as the ‘sugar’ or ‘groceries’ mite. Traditionally associated with occupational exposure in rural workers, storage mites have more recently been linked with non-occupational sensitization in urban environments, causing rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma, as well as atopic dermatitis.
Storage mites are commonly found in stored food products, hay, straw, granaries and barns. Importantly, storage mites including L. destructor, are also found in the home, in mattresses, floors and carpets, where house dust mites (HDM) are characteristically found. Allergenic cross-reactivity between storage mites and HDMs is well documented.
Allergen
Taxonomy
Taxonomic tree of Lepidoglyphus (1) |
|
|---|---|
Domain |
Eukaryota |
Kingdom |
Metazoa |
Phylum |
Arthropoda |
Subphylum |
Chelicerata |
Class |
Arachnida |
Subclass |
Acari |
Order |
Astigmata |
Family |
Glycyphagidae |
Genus |
Lepidoglyphus |
Taxonomic tree of Lepidoglyphus (1) |
|---|
Tissue
Mite feces are the most relevant source of allergens (2).
Epidemiology
Risk factors
Sensitization to storage mites, including Lepidoglyphus destructor, is an occupational hazard for farm workers (3) and bakers (4). However, approximately 25% of patients sensitized to storage mites have no relationship with farms or bakeries (4).
Environmental Characteristics
Living environment
Of 571 UK shop-bought cereal-based food products, 21% were contaminated with storage mites. After home storage for 6 weeks, 38% of 421 food samples contained storage mites (4).
In dust collected from the homes of 125 people, 466 of 500 samples were found to be positive for mites; L. destructor accounted for 66.4% of the mite species identified in the samples (5).
Route of Exposure
Main
Inhalation (4).
Secondary
Contact (6).
Clinical Relevance
Mites are the sources of potent allergens that sensitize and induce IgE-mediated allergic reactions (7); in one random urban population, 6.3% of people demonstrated IgE-mediated allergy to L. destructor (8). Sensitization to storage mites causes rhinitis, asthma and conjunctivitis, (7) as well as rhinitis and atopic dermatitis (6).
Among 200 patients assessed for rhinitis and/or asthma in an outpatient setting, 123 (61.5%) had sensitization to at least one storage mite (Marques et al, 2020). Patients with storage mite sensitization had the following disease characteristics: rhinitis (96.7%), asthma (46.3%), rhinitis and asthma (43.1%), conjunctivitis (25.2%) and atopic dermatitis (9.8%) (6).
When compared with non-allergic participants without asthma, sensitization to L. destructor is associated with increased odds of having nasal allergies without asthma, and of having asthma with nasal allergies, but is not associated with having asthma without nasal allergies (4).
Molecular Aspects
Allergenic molecules
Allergens in storage mites include fatty acid-binding proteins, tropomysin and paramyosin homologues, apoliphorine-like proteins, alfa tubulines and other allergens, such as group 2, 5 and 7 allergens (9). Studies have identified at least 20 allergenic molecules from extracts of L. destructor (9). One of these molecules, Lep d 2, is considered a major allergen (15 kDa) which showed high IgE reactivity both in vitro and in vivo. Lep d 2 also presents a high degree of polymorphism, with variants that may differ between wild and cultured mite populations (9). Other antigens include: Lep d 5, a molecule of unknown function, that could bind antibodies from 9% serum in study of 45 patients. Lep d 7, which in recombinant form was recognized by IgE in 62% of L. destructor sensitized patients. Lep d 10, which showed in its recombinant version binding to 13% of serum samples from patients sensitized to mites and/or crustaceans. Lep d 13, an intracellular lipid transport protein, could bind 13% of serum samples from sensitized patients when presented in recombinant form. Lep d 33, an α-tubulin, recognized 12% of serum samples from sensitized patients. Finally a 39kDa protein of unknown function showed 46.5% binding to serum of farmers sensitized to L. destructor (9). Other antigens named Lep d 3, 8 and 12 have also been identified (9).
Table adapted from Allergome.org (10):
Allergen |
Type |
Mass (kDa) |
|---|---|---|
NPC2 family |
14.8 |
|
Serine protease |
27 |
|
Unknown |
12.5 |
|
Unknown |
24 |
|
Glutathione S-transferase |
24.7 |
|
Tropomyosin |
33 |
|
Chitin binding protein |
16 |
|
Fatty acid binding protein |
14.7 |
|
α-tubulin |
50 |
|
Unknown |
39 |
Allergen |
Type |
Mass (kDa) |
|---|
Cross-reactivity
Allergenic cross-reactivity between storage mites and HDMs is well documented; in a European Community Respiratory Health Survey, 8% of people were found to be sensitized to HDMs and 10% to storage mites. Among those patients with storage mite sensitization, 44% were also sensitized to HDM (4).
Another study reported that 88.4% (n/N=274/310) of patients sensitive to house dust mites were also sensitive to storage mites; 73% (n/N=227/310) of patients were sensitized to all three species of storage mite studied (L. destructor, Tyrophagus putrescentiae and Acarus. siro) (11).
Compiled By
Author: RubyDuke Communications
Reviewer: Dr. Christian Fischer
Last reviewed:May 2022
References
- CABI. Lepidoglyphus destructor (groceries, mite) Wallingford, UK2021 [cited 2021 6.12.21]. Available from: https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/25424.
- Erban T, Rybanska D, Harant K, Hortova B, Hubert J. Feces Derived Allergens of Tyrophagus putrescentiae Reared on Dried Dog Food and Evidence of the Strong Nutritional Interaction between the Mite and Bacillus cereus Producing Protease Bacillolysins and Exo-chitinases. Frontiers in Physiology. 2016;7.
- Solarz K, Pająk C. Risk of exposure of a selected rural population in South Poland to allergenic mites. Part II: acarofauna of farm buildings. Experimental and Applied Acarology. 2019;77(3):387-99.
- Jõgi NO, Kleppe Olsen R, Svanes C, Gislason D, Gislason T, Schlünssen V, et al. Prevalence of allergic sensitization to storage mites in Northern Europe. Clin Exp Allergy. 2020;50(3):372-82.
- Gill NK, Dhaliwal AK. Seasonal Variation of Allergenic Acarofauna From the Homes of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthmatic Patients. J Med Entomol. 2018;55(2):262-8.
- Marques ML, Rezende I, Cunha I, Gouveia J, Rodrigues Dos Santos F, Falcão I, et al. Allergic sensitization to storage dust mites: a prospective study of patients with respiratory allergy. Eur Ann Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020.
- van Hage-Hamsten M, Johansson SGO. Storage mites. Experimental & Applied Acarology. 1992;16(1):117-28.
- Gislason D, Gislason T. IgE-mediated allergy to Lepidoglyphus destructor in an urban population--an epidemiologic study. Allergy. 1999;54(8):878-83.
- Fernández-Caldas E, Iraola V, Carnés J. Molecular and biochemical properties of storage mites (except Blomia species). Protein Pept Lett. 2007;14(10):954-9.
- Allergome. Acarus siro 2021 [cited 2021 6.12.21]. Available from: http://www.allergome.org/script/search_step2.php.
- Vidal C, Chomón B, Pérez-Carral C, González-Quintela A. Sensitization to Lepidoglyphus destructor, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, and Acarus siro in patients allergic to house dust mites (Dermatophagoides spp.). J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1997;100(5):716-8.
