Cross-Reactivity of IgE Antibodies with Allergens in Birch Pollen, Fruits and Vegetables

Abstract

Allergens extracted from apple, carrot, celery tuber and orange were coupled to radioallergosorbent test (RAST) discs. These and commercial birch, mugwort and timothy pollen discs were used to study sera from 90 patients for the presence of IgE antibodies which react with the allergens in question. Individual sera frequently gave positive results with several discs – in particular with birch pollen, apple, carrot and celery tuber discs. If IgE antibodies to birch pollen or apple allergens were detected, there was a 90% chance of antibodies being found also to the second one of these two source materials. Skin tests and patient histories indicated similar clustering of allergies. RAST inhibition experiments showed that the clustering phenomenon was due to cross-reactivity. All immunological determinants in fruits and vegetables appeared to be present also in birch pollen, but all birch pollen determinants were not present in fruits and vegetables. 45 children with atopic dermatitis were studied to establish whether a positive orange RAST would correlate with a history of atopic dermatitis aggravated by orange. The results were negative.

Characterization of the 18-kDa Apple Allergen by Two-Dimensional Immunoblotting and Microsequencing

“…However, confirmation analysis of an 18-kDa aller gen from Granny Smith apples revealed the same sequence (result not shown). Cross-reactivity studies of birch pollen and plant food allergens which have been performed by RAST/EAST inhibition as well as by immunoblot and im munoblot inhibition suggest that all allergenic determinants of the vegetable foods are present in birch pollen but that only some determinants of the birch pollen allergens are present in fruits and vegetables [5][6][7][8]10,20], In accordance with Ebner et al [8] On the basis o f the 26 N-terminal amino acid residues, a sequence identity o f 62% between Bet v I and the apple al lergen was calculated. In addition, 3/26 residues of the two proteins are similar (pos.…”

Profilin Is a Cross-Reactive Allergen in Pollen and Vegetable Foods

“…IgE antibodies of these patients recognize similar structures in often botanically unrelated allergen sources. Well-known examples of such cross-reactive structures are: (1) mugwort pollen and vegetables like carrot and celery [2,3]; (2) birch pollen and various fruits of the family of the Rosaceae (apple, pear, cherry, peach) [4,5]; (3) grass pollen and potato [1,6], and (4) ragweed and some fruits, like melon and banana [7,8]. It is known that some of these cross-reactions are caused by carbohydrate structures on allergens [1,5].…”

Monoclonal Antibodies against Birch Pollen Allergens: Characterization by Immunoblotting and Use for Single-Step Affinity Purification of the Major Allergen <i>Bet </i><i>v</i> I

“…BP allergens share allergenic determinants with other tree pollen, e.g. pollen from hazel or alder [12,13], or with veg etables and fruits [14][15][16][17]. In this context, MoAbs could help to gain more information aobut cross reacting structures.…”