Specificity mapping of patients IgE response towards the tree pollen major allergens Aln g I, Bet v I and Cor a I

Abstract

The specificity pattern of IgE from non-treated tree pollen allergic patients (n = 38) were evaluated by solid phase absorption of serum samples followed by CRIE on alder, birch and hazel CIE precipitation profiles. The majority of the serum samples seemed to contain IgE antibodies with the following characteristics: specific towards Bet v I alone and common between Aln g I, Bet v I and/or Cor a I, 'II'. The IgE specificity profiles observed for 95% of the sera tested are compatible with birch pollen allergens being the only sensitizing allergens, indicating that the patients react to allergens from other tree pollens of the Fagales order due to IgE cross-reaction with the major allergens of birch and alder and/or hazel pollens.

The trend to earlier birch pollen seasons in the U.K.: A biotic response to changes in weather conditions?

“…The major allergens of Alder (Aln gl), Birch (Bet vl), and Hazel (Cor a!) have many features in common (Ipsen et al 1992). Alder pollen acts as a primer making allergic people more sensitive to other pollens later in the season.…”

Allergy Vaccine Engineering: Epitope Modulation of Recombinant Bet v 1 Reduces IgE Binding but Retains Protein Folding Pattern for Induction of Protective Blocking-Antibody Responses

“…As the majority of birch pollen-allergic patients have serum IgE that cross-react with major allergens of Fagales comprising birch, alder, hazel, and hornbeam (42), amino acid residues selected for mutation were all located in surface areas conserved among the Fagales major allergens as determined by primary sequence alignments. Selected amino acid residues were substituted to residues not found in the corresponding positions within any known isoallergen sequence of Fagales major allergens.…”

Epitope Grafting, Re-creating a Conformational Bet v 1 Antibody Epitope on the Surface of the Homologous Apple Allergen Mal d 1

“…The current model for cross-reactivity is that the major allergens with Ն75% sequence identity have common molecular structures (i.e. epitopes) on their surfaces, which are recognized by the same patient IgE antibodies (10). Also, more distantly related species, such as apple, contain molecules homologous to Bet v 1 (11,12).…”