Suphioglu C, Singh M B, Taylor P, Bellomo R, Holmes P, Puy R, Knox R B
School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Lancet. 1992 Mar 7;339(8793):569-72. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(92)90864-y.
Many asthmatics are sensitive to rye-grass pollen, but pollen grains are too large to penetrate the lower airways. Our aim was to investigate the mechanism by which rye-grass pollen causes asthma. A major allergen of rye-grass pollen, Lol pIX, is located in intracellular starch granules within pollen grains. In-vitro tests showed that pollen grains are ruptured in rainwater by osmotic shock, each grain releasing about 700 starch granules into the environment. These granules are small enough to enter the airways (less than 3 microns in diameter). The starch granules were present in atmospheric samples taken during the pollen season, and showed a 50-fold increase in atmospheric concentration on days following rainfall. Isolated granules elicited IgE-mediated responses in asthmatic patients, and 4 patients with rainfall-associated asthma who underwent an inhalation challenge test had striking bronchial constriction after exposure to starch granules. Starch granules released from rye-grass pollen seem to be capable of causing asthma.
许多哮喘患者对黑麦草花粉敏感，但花粉颗粒太大，无法穿透下呼吸道。我们的目的是研究黑麦草花粉引发哮喘的机制。黑麦草花粉的一种主要过敏原Lol pIX位于花粉粒内的细胞内淀粉颗粒中。体外试验表明，花粉粒在雨水中因渗透冲击而破裂，每个花粉粒向环境中释放约700个淀粉颗粒。这些颗粒足够小，可以进入气道（直径小于3微米）。淀粉颗粒存在于花粉季节采集的大气样本中，降雨后大气浓度增加了50倍。分离出的颗粒在哮喘患者中引发了IgE介导的反应，4名患有降雨相关哮喘的患者在接受吸入激发试验后，接触淀粉颗粒后出现了明显的支气管收缩。黑麦草花粉释放的淀粉颗粒似乎能够引发哮喘。
