Properties of tree and grass pollen allergens: reinvestigation of the linkage between solubility and allergenicity.

In this study we reinvestigated the kinetics of allergen release from birch pollen (Betula verrucosa) and timothy grass pollen (Phleum pratense) using different protein extraction procedures, immunoblotting with specific antibodies and immune electron microscopy. Pollen allergens such as the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v I, the major timothy grass pollen allergens, Phl p I and Phl p V, group-II/III allergens from timothy grass and profilins were released rapidly and in large amounts from hydrated pollen. Within a few minutes pollen allergens could be detected in aqueous supernatants prepared from birch and grass pollen with serum IgE or specific antibodies. In parallel the allergen content in the pollen pellet fractions decreased. A nonallergenic protein such as heat shock protein 70 can be extracted in sufficient amounts only with harsh extraction procedures. Immune electron microscopy of dry and rehydrated birch pollens showed that after short hydration, the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v I, migrated into the exine and to the surface of intact pollen grains, whereas profilin, against which a lower percentage of patients is sensitized, was retained in the pollen grain. Comparing the amino acid composition and hydrophilicity of the tested allergens with a nonallergenic protein such as heat shock protein 70, no significant difference was noted. In agreement with earlier observations we conclude that the allergenic properties of proteins are rather linked to the amount and speed of solubility from airborne particles than to intrinsic properties.