Odongo Leo, Mulyowa Grace, Goebeler Matthias, Trautmann Axel
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Mbarara, Mbarara, Uganda.
Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2015;167(4):264-9. doi: 10.1159/000439533. Epub 2015 Oct 6.
Birch pollen allergy and concomitant plant food sensitization are well documented in Europe. However, there are currently no data available on pollen-associated plant food sensitization or even pollen allergy in tropical Africa. Our study aimed to investigate Bet v 1- and Bet v 2-associated plant food sensitization in atopic patients from Uganda and compare it with sensitization rates in German patients.
Sera from 83 Ugandan and 97 German atopic patients were analysed using UniCAP100™ for allergen-specific IgE against the birch tree pollen allergens Bet v 1 and Bet v 2 as well as the plant foods hazelnut, apple, kiwi, pea, peach, cherry, litchi, peanut, and soy.
As expected, sensitization to Bet v 1 and cross-reactive plant food allergens was more common in German atopic patients. In contrast, the prevalence of sensitization against Bet v 2 was remarkably similar in Ugandan and German patients. Interestingly, in Ugandan patients we found IgE-mediated sensitization against plant foods such as hazelnut, pea, peach, cherry, and litchi that are neither cultivated nor consumed in Uganda.
For Ugandan atopic patients, sensitization against the Bet v 2 allergen (a plant profilin) may explain cross-reactivity to several plant foods which are not consumed in Uganda. Additionally, it is probable that sensitization of Ugandan atopics to alder pollen (Alnus acuminata, plant family Betulaceae) caused serological cross-reactivity with Betula verrucosa-related allergens.
在欧洲，桦树花粉过敏以及与之相关的植物性食物致敏现象已有充分记载。然而，目前在热带非洲尚无关于花粉相关的植物性食物致敏甚至花粉过敏的数据。我们的研究旨在调查乌干达特应性患者中与Bet v 1和Bet v 2相关的植物性食物致敏情况，并将其与德国患者的致敏率进行比较。
使用UniCAP100™对83名乌干达和97名德国特应性患者的血清进行分析，检测针对桦树花粉过敏原Bet v 1和Bet v 2以及植物性食物榛子、苹果、猕猴桃、豌豆、桃子、樱桃、荔枝、花生和大豆的过敏原特异性IgE。
正如预期的那样，德国特应性患者中对Bet v 1和交叉反应性植物性食物过敏原的致敏更为常见。相比之下，乌干达和德国患者中对Bet v 2致敏的患病率非常相似。有趣的是，在乌干达患者中，我们发现了IgE介导的对榛子、豌豆、桃子、樱桃和荔枝等植物性食物的致敏，而这些食物在乌干达既不种植也不食用。
对于乌干达特应性患者，对Bet v 2过敏原（一种植物肌动蛋白结合蛋白）的致敏可能解释了对几种乌干达未食用的植物性食物的交叉反应性。此外，乌干达特应性患者对桤木花粉（尖叶桤木，桦木科植物）的致敏很可能导致了与疣枝桦相关过敏原的血清学交叉反应。
