The effect of geographical and climatic properties on grass pollen and Phl p 5 allergen release

Abstract

The Poaceae family, including grasses, comprises several cosmopolitan and allergenic species. The aim of this study was to determine the correlations between Poaceae pollen and Phl p 5 allergen concentrations in two cities with different geographical and climatic properties in Turkey. Pollen were collected from Burkard traps in Ankara and Zonguldak. Phl p 5 sampling was carried out between March and October in both 2015 and 2016 using a BGI900 Cascade High Volume Air Sampler (900 L/min.). The concentrations of Phl p 5 were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The annual sum of Poaceae pollen (pollen index) during 2015-2016 was 5454 in Ankara and 4142 in Zonguldak. The total Phl p 5 concentration was 1309 pg/m in Zonguldak, whereas it was 8181 pg/m in Ankara over 2 years. About 90% of the allergen was found in the fraction with particulate matter (PM) > 10 μm in both cities. It was found that the main meteorological parameter which affected pollen and Phl p 5 was temperature in both stations. Rainfall was also found to be important for Zonguldak, due to its climatic and geographic properties. Lastly, we suggest that the primary wind direction, which is from the south of Zonguldak, could have a 'drift effect' for allergens because of the airborne pollen concentrations and the dates on which the allergen is released into the atmosphere. The wind direction may be an important factor in the distribution of allergen and pollen grains in stations, especially those with a hilly topography.

Relationship between Poaceae pollen and Phl p 5 allergen concentrations and the impact of weather variables and air pollutants on their levels in the atmosphere

“…Due to high atmospheric humidity, Poaceae pollen grains with a delicate and thin pollen wall ( Buters et al., 2015 ) can be easily burst and release free fraction of allergenic molecules in ambient air ( D'Amato et al., 2010 ). By contrast, we observed, similarly to Alan et al. (2018) that airborne Phl p 5 allergen concentrations significantly decreased with increasing relative air humidity, presumably as a result of increased sedimentation velocity of humid pollen allergens.…”

Changes of artemisia pollen concentration in Zonguldak atmospher

“…It can be seen that the air masses were bordered with the hills which lays in parallel to Black Sea. Because similar result was already obtained with Poaceae pollen, this could be characteristic of cities on Black Sea coastal line [7]. It was reported that Artemisia pollen concentration in Zonguldak atmosphere was 33, 36, 36 pollen/m 3 respectively during 2007-2009 [8].…”

Comparison of two aerobiological stations data in Zonguldak

“…Kozlu is a district with garden houses. Although significant difference was observed between pollen and allergen concentration in one aerobiological station [7], such a difference was not observed in pollen concentrations between stations. This can be interpreted that pollen and allergens have different aerodynamic.…”

“…The geographical properties of place in which aerobiological station is placed is also important for collecting airborne especially transported pollen. It was shown that Zonguldak city center is protected from pollen and allergen transported from the south of Zonguldak by hills that lay behind Zonguldak [7]. Therefore, data of two aerobiological stations in Zonguldak were compared using different statistical approach in this study, in order to demonstrate of effect of elevation changes.…”