Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2012 Jan;4(1):49-51. doi: 10.4168/aair.2012.4.1.49. Epub 2011 Nov 11.
Corn is a major staple food, along with rice and wheat, in many parts of the world. There are several reports of hypersensitivity to maize pollen. However, cases of occupational allergic rhinitis induced by inhalation of maize pollen are very rare. We herein report the case of a 67-year-old male with occupational rhinitis caused by occupational exposure to maize pollen in a cornfield. He showed positive responses to maize pollen, as well as grass pollens, in skin prick tests. A high level of serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) specific to maize pollen extracts was detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Laboratory tests showed a high serum level of total IgE (724 kU/L) and a high level of IgE specific to maize pollen (8.32 kU/L) using the Immuno-CAP system. Occupational rhinitis was confirmed by a nasal provocation test with maize pollen extracts. IgE ELISA inhibition tests showed antibody cross-reactivity between maize pollen and grass pollen extracts. IgE immunoblotting using maize pollen extracts demonstrated a 27 kDa IgE-binding component. These findings suggest that maize pollen can induce IgE-mediated occupational rhinitis in exposed workers.
玉米与水稻、小麦同为世界上许多地区的主要主食。有几项关于玉米花粉过敏的报告。然而，由吸入玉米花粉引起的职业性过敏性鼻炎的病例非常罕见。本文报告了一例 67 岁男性在玉米地中因职业暴露于玉米花粉而引发职业性鼻炎。他的皮肤点刺试验对玉米花粉以及草花粉均呈阳性反应。酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测到血清中针对玉米花粉提取物的免疫球蛋白 E（IgE）特异性水平较高。实验室检查使用 Immuno-CAP 系统显示总 IgE 血清水平较高（724 kU/L），且针对玉米花粉的 IgE 水平较高（8.32 kU/L）。玉米花粉提取物的鼻激发试验证实了职业性鼻炎的存在。IgE ELISA 抑制试验显示玉米花粉和草花粉提取物之间存在抗体交叉反应。使用玉米花粉提取物进行 IgE 免疫印迹显示出 27 kDa IgE 结合成分。这些发现表明，玉米花粉可引起暴露于其中的劳动者发生 IgE 介导的职业性鼻炎。
