A Component-resolved Diagnostic Approach for a Study on Grass Pollen Allergens in Chinese Southerners with Allergic Rhinitis and/or Asthma

Wenting Luo; Guichang Pan; Huimin Huang; Peiyan Zheng; Nili Wei; Yifei Zhang; Guangqiao Zeng; Baoqing Sun

doi:10.3791/55723

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Method Article

A Component-resolved Diagnostic Approach for a Study on Grass Pollen Allergens in Chinese Southerners with Allergic Rhinitis and/or Asthma

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DOI:

10.3791/55723

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June 4th, 2017

Wenting Luo^*¹^,²^,³^,⁴ , Guichang Pan^*⁵ , Huimin Huang¹^,²^,³^,⁴ , Peiyan Zheng¹^,²^,³^,⁴ , Nili Wei¹^,²^,³^,⁴ , Yifei Zhang⁵ , Guangqiao Zeng¹^,²^,³^,⁴ , Baoqing Sun¹^,²^,³^,⁴

¹State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, ²National Clinical Research Center of Respiratory Disease, ³Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, ⁴Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, ⁵Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University

^* These authors contributed equally

Summary

This work describes a protocol that uses a component-resolved approach to study sensitization to grass pollen allergens in a cohort of patients from southern China with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma.

Abstract

Sensitization to grass pollen imposes a global risk for allergic airway diseases. Although prevention relies on local investigation of the pollen allergens, data on this topic are limited in southern China. Any available data were obtained by self-report questionnaires, skin prick tests, and total or specific IgE tests using crude extracts. For many reasons, these methods are unreliable. Serum sIgE reactivity to Bermuda grass, Timothy grass, and Humulus scandens allergens in a cohort of patients from Greater Guangzhou (southern China's largest city and its outskirts) with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma were examined using a fully-automated immunoassay analyzer as a component-resolved diagnostics (CRD) tool.

For the first time, a considerably high prevalence of Bermuda grass sIgE positivity was demonstrated in Chinese southerners with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. In these patients, a subtle prevalence of sensitization to Timothy grass and Humulus scandens was also noted, which may arise from cross-reactivity, as the latter two are not common in the region. This was also supported by the detection of allergen components.

Fully-automated immunoassay analyzers may offer satisfactory consistency between regions, laboratories, and institutions and over time. The automaticity of the instrument may enable a standardized detection that would not have been readily revealed before the advent of CRD.

This is a study that uses a CRD approach to investigate sensitization to grass pollen allergens in southern China. It adds to current evidence in the literature. Future studies are needed to validate these findings. However, although CRD is a useful tool, the findings made with the fully-automated immunoassay analyzer should not substitute for other laboratory investigations, clinical evaluations, and physician expertise.

Introduction

Grass pollen accounts for nearly 50% of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-related allergies and, because of its airborne nature, imposes a global risk of allergic airway diseases, particularly asthma and allergic rhinitis¹^,²^,³^,⁴. Prevention against grass pollen allergies in a region relies on information about the local distribution of the pollen allergens. Unfortunately, the spectrum of the sensitizing allergens varies from place to place—an observation generally known as regional specificity.

In China, a vast East-As....