Fuente: PubMed "pollen" Front Immunol. 2026 Apr 21;17:1793997. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1793997. eCollection 2026.ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Asthma remains a global health burden, affecting over 300 million individuals worldwide, with its pathogenesis involving complex interactions between genetic predisposition and environmental allergens. Pollen is a well-established trigger of allergic asthma. However, the precise mechanisms underlying its allergenic activity remain incompletely understood. Recent advances have highlighted the emerging role of plant-derived extracellular vesicles in immune modulation. Notably, pollen-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) have been identified as carriers of allergenic proteins. Therefore, this study investigates whether pollen contains extracellular vesicles(EVs) and whether these vesicles can induce allergic airway inflammation.METHODS: We isolated extracellular vesicles from Artemisia annua pollen using differential centrifugation and sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation. The biological activity of PDEVs was evaluated in vitro using human airway epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and in vivo using a murine asthma model.RESULTS: PDEVs are nanoscale lipid bilayer structures containing diverse allergenic proteins and exhibiting structural stability. PDEVs induced significantly stronger pro-inflammatory responses compared to pollen supernatant (Sup) in vitro. PDEVs enhanced inflammatory cytokine production IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-33 expression, and promoted eosinophilic, neutrophilic infiltration in murine.CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest extracellular vesicles present in pollen grains, which may represent a critical mechanism underlying pollen-induced airway inflammation. Targeting PDEVs may offer new therapeutic strategies for allergic airway diseases prevention and treatment.PMID:42093973 | PMC:PMC13138987 | DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2026.1793997