Vermani Maansi, Vijayan Vannan Kandi, Agarwal Mahendra Kumar
Department of Respiratory Allergy and Applied Immunology, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, India AND Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2015 Aug;14(4):361-9.
Aspergillus species (A. flavus and A. niger) are important sources of inhalant allergens. Current diagnostic modalities employ crude Aspergillus extracts which only indicate the source to which the patient has been sensitized, without identifying the number and type of allergens in crude extracts. We report a study on the identification of major and minor allergens of the two common airborne Aspergillus species and heterogeneity of patients' IgE response to them. Skin prick tests were performed on 300 patients of bronchial asthma and/or allergic rhinitis and 20 healthy volunteers. Allergen specific IgE in patients' sera was estimated by enzyme allergosorbent test (EAST). Immunoblots were performed to identify major/minor allergens of Aspergillus extracts and to study heterogeneity of patients'IgE response to them. Positive cutaneous responses were observed in 17% and 14.7% of patients with A. flavus and A. niger extracts, respectively. Corresponding EAST positivity was 69.2% and 68.7%. In immunoblots, 5 allergenic proteins were identified in A. niger extract, major allergens being 49, 55.4 and 81.5 kDa. Twelve proteins bound patients' IgE in A. flavus extract, three being major allergens (13.3, 34 and 37 kDa). The position and slopes of EAST binding and inhibition curves obtained with individual sera varied from patient to patient. The number and molecular weight of IgE-binding proteins in both the Aspergillus extracts varied among patients. These results gave evidence of heterogeneity of patients' IgE response to major/minor Aspergillus allergens. This approach will be helpful to identify disease eliciting molecules in the individual patients (component resolved diagnosis) and may improve allergen-specific immunotherapy.
曲霉属物种（黄曲霉和黑曲霉）是吸入性过敏原的重要来源。目前的诊断方法使用粗制曲霉提取物，这些提取物仅表明患者已致敏的来源，而未鉴定粗提物中过敏原的数量和类型。我们报告了一项关于两种常见空气传播曲霉属物种主要和次要过敏原的鉴定以及患者对它们的IgE反应异质性的研究。对300例支气管哮喘和/或过敏性鼻炎患者及20名健康志愿者进行了皮肤点刺试验。通过酶联免疫吸附试验（EAST）估计患者血清中的过敏原特异性IgE。进行免疫印迹以鉴定曲霉提取物的主要/次要过敏原，并研究患者对它们的IgE反应异质性。分别有17%和14.7%的患者对黄曲霉和黑曲霉提取物出现阳性皮肤反应。相应的EAST阳性率分别为69.2%和68.7%。在免疫印迹中，在黑曲霉提取物中鉴定出5种致敏蛋白，主要过敏原为49、55.4和81.5 kDa。在黄曲霉提取物中有12种蛋白与患者的IgE结合，其中3种为主要过敏原（13.3、34和37 kDa）。用个体血清获得的EAST结合和抑制曲线的位置和斜率因患者而异。两种曲霉提取物中IgE结合蛋白的数量和分子量在患者之间也有所不同。这些结果证明了患者对曲霉主要/次要过敏原的IgE反应存在异质性。这种方法将有助于识别个体患者中引发疾病的分子（组分分辨诊断），并可能改善过敏原特异性免疫治疗。
