Reactivity to recombinant house-dust-mite allergens in asthma and rhinitis in a tropical environment.

BACKGROUND

House-dust mites contain components that are allergenic in mite-sensitive patients, and a number of these have been produced in recombinant form.

METHODS

In the present study, we evaluated by skin prick testing the positivity to native Der p 2 and recombinant Der p 2, Der p 5, and Der p 7 allergens of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in patients with rhinitis, asthma, or a combination of these diseases, who were positive to whole-mite extract.

RESULTS

In all patients, the positivity to both native and recombinant Der p 2 was high. In patients with either rhinitis or asthma, the reactivity to Der p 5 and 7 was significantly lower than to Der p 2. However, in patients with combined disease, the positivity to the minor allergens was almost as high as that to Der p 2.

CONCLUSIONS

These results raise the question of whether patients with combined allergic rhinitis and asthma, when compared to those with either of these diseases alone, are predisposed to react to a wider range of mite allergens, or, inversely, whether patients who respond to the minor allergens are more susceptible to suffering the combined disease.