Lis Kinga
Department of Allergology, Clinical Immunology and Internal Medicine, Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, ul. Ujejskiego 75, 85-168 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Nutrients. 2025 Jul 24;17(15):2423. doi: 10.3390/nu17152423.
Biotin (vitamin B7) is a common, naturally occurring water-soluble vitamin. It belongs to the broad group of B vitamins. It is a common ingredient in dietary supplements, cosmetics, medicines, and parapharmaceutical preparations administered orally or applied topically (to the skin, hair, nails). The problem of the relationship between vitamin B supplementation and sensitivity seems to be multi-threaded. There is little literature data that would confirm that oral vitamin B supplementation or local exposure to biotin is a significant sensitizing factor. Moreover, it seems that allergy to vitamin B7 is very rare. It is possible, however, that the relationship between biotin and hypersensitivity is not limited to its direct action, but results from its essential metabolic function. Vitamin B7, as a cofactor of five carboxylases, affects the main pathways of cellular metabolism. Both deficiency and excess of biotin can result in metabolic disorders, which can have a significant impact on the homeostasis of the entire organism, including the efficient functioning of the immune system. Dysregulation of immune systems leads to its dysfunctional functioning, which can also lead to sensitization to various environmental antigens (allergens). Biotin is also used as an element of some methodological models in immunochemical tests (in vitro diagnostics), including methods used to measure the concentration of immunoglobulin E (IgE), both total (tIgE) and allergen-specific (sIgE). For this reason, vitamin B7 supplementation can be a significant interfering factor in some immunochemical tests, which can lead to false laboratory test results, both false positive and false negative, depending on the test format. This situation can have a direct impact on the quality and effectiveness of diagnostics in various clinical situations, including allergy diagnostics. This review focuses on the role of biotin in allergic reactions, both as a causative factor (allergen/hapten), a factor predisposing to the development of sensitization to various allergens, and an interfering factor in immunochemical methods used in laboratory diagnosis of hypersensitivity reactions and how it can be prevented.
生物素（维生素B7）是一种常见的天然存在的水溶性维生素。它属于广义的B族维生素。它是膳食补充剂、化妆品、药品以及口服或局部（用于皮肤、头发、指甲）应用的辅助药品制剂中的常见成分。维生素B补充与敏感性之间的关系问题似乎是多方面的。几乎没有文献数据能证实口服维生素B补充剂或局部接触生物素是一个重要的致敏因素。此外，对维生素B7过敏似乎非常罕见。然而，生物素与超敏反应之间的关系可能不仅限于其直接作用，而是源于其基本的代谢功能。维生素B7作为五种羧化酶的辅酶，影响细胞代谢的主要途径。生物素缺乏和过量都可能导致代谢紊乱，这可能对整个机体的稳态产生重大影响，包括免疫系统的有效运作。免疫系统失调会导致其功能异常，这也可能导致对各种环境抗原（过敏原）致敏。生物素还用作免疫化学检测（体外诊断）中一些方法模型的元素，包括用于测量总免疫球蛋白E（tIgE）和过敏原特异性免疫球蛋白E（sIgE）浓度的方法。因此，补充维生素B7在某些免疫化学检测中可能是一个重要的干扰因素，这可能导致实验室检测结果出现假阳性和假阴性，具体取决于检测形式。这种情况可能直接影响各种临床情况下诊断的质量和有效性，包括过敏诊断。本综述重点关注生物素在过敏反应中的作用，它既是致病因素（过敏原/半抗原），又是导致对各种过敏原致敏的因素，还是实验室诊断超敏反应所用免疫化学方法中的干扰因素，以及如何预防这种干扰。
