Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jul;2(3):195-202.
doi: 10.5415/apallergy.2012.2.3.195. Epub 2012 Jul 25.

Measurement of Hymenoptera venom specific IgE by the IMMULITE 3gAllergy in subjects with negative or positive results by ImmunoCAP

Mineaki Watanabe  1 , Hirokuni Hirata, Masafumi Arima, Yumeko Hayashi, Kazuyuki Chibana, Naruo Yoshida, Yoshihiko Ikeno, Yasutsugu Fukushima, Reiko Komura, Kazumi Okazaki, Kumiya Sugiyama, Takeshi Fukuda
Affiliations

Measurement of Hymenoptera venom specific IgE by the IMMULITE 3gAllergy in subjects with negative or positive results by ImmunoCAP

Mineaki Watanabe et al. Asia Pac Allergy. 2012 Jul.

Erratum in

  • Asia Pac Allergy. 2013 Jan;3(1):74

Abstract

Background: Patients may receive negative results from a specific IgE (sIgE) test such as the ImmunoCAP (CAP) despite a documented history of systemic reaction to a Hymenoptera sting. Thus, further testing may be required using another serological method or venom skin prick tests to confirm allergy diagnosis and correct species.

Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity and the specificity of CAP and IMMULITE 3gAllergy (IMMULITE) for detecting sIgE to Paper wasp (WA) and Yellow Jacket (YJ) venoms using patient clinical history as the comparator.

Methods: Sera from 70 participants with a history of systemic reactions (SR) to WA and/or YJ stings were tested using CAP and IMMULITE. Fifty participants from this group had negative results on CAP. To assess specificity, sera from 71 participants who had never experienced either a WA or YJ sting were tested using CAP and IMMULITE. Fifty participants from this group tested positive using CAP.

Results: In participants with a history of systemic reaction to a Hymenoptera sting, yet who tested negative for WA and/or YJ sIgE according to CAP, the positivity rate according to IMMULITE was 20-42% using 0.10 IU(A)/mL as the limit of detection (LoD), per the manufacturer's specification. When the LoD for CAP (0.35 IU(A)/mL) was applied to the IMMULITE results, positivity according to IMMULITE was 14-26%. Overall, sensitivity, specificity, and agreement with SR were greater for IMMULITE than for CAP. For YJ: sensitivity (IMMULITE:CAP), 42.8%:28.5%; specificity, 53.5%:39.4%; agreement, 48.2%:34%. For WA, sensitivity (IMMULITE:CAP), 58.6%:28.5%; specificity, 49.3%:47.8%; agreement, 43.9%:38.3%.

Conclusion: The IMMULITE performed well for detecting sIgE to Hymenoptera venom.

Keywords: Allergy; IMMULITE; ImmunoCAP; Sensitivity; Specificity; Venom specific IgE.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study design. SR, systemic reactions; CAP; ImmunoCAP.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Quantitative results for Hymenoptera sIgE according to IMMULITE 3gAllergy (IMMULITE) using its 0.1 IUA/mL cutoff among the 50 participants who had a history of Hymenoptera stings but who tested negative according to ImmunoCAP (CAP) (<0.35 IUA/mL). Results demonstrate IMMULITE's sensitivity relative to CAP.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Correlation of quantitative results for participants who were positive for Hymenoptera specific IgE on both immunoassay systems (n = 20). R values were determined by linear regression analysis for results ≥0.35 IUA/mL (ImmunoCAP) or 0.1 IUA/mL (IMMULITE 3gAllergy).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Specificity analysis: Yellow Jacket or wasp specific IgE results on both systems from 50 participants who had no history of Hymenoptera stings.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Of the 21 participants with negative ImmunoCAP test results (<0.35 IUA/mL) for specific IgE to both Yellow Jacket and wasp, one generated a low-positive result according to IMMULITE 3gAllergy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Plebani M, Borghesan F, Faggian D. Clinical efficiency of in vitro and in vivo tests for allergic diseases. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 1995;74:23–28. - PubMed
    1. Shoji J, Kato H, Kitazawa M, Inada N, Sawa M. Evaluation of staphylococcal enterotoxin-specific IgE antibody in tears in allergic keratoconjunctival disorders. Jpn J Ophthalmol. 2003;47:609–611. - PubMed
    1. Ogino S, Bessho K, Harada T, Irifune M, Matsunaga T. Evaluation of allergen-specific IgE antibodies by MAST for the diagnosis of nasal allergy. Rhinology. 1993;31:27–31. - PubMed
    1. Nakagawa T, Miyamoto T, Akiyama K, Takasaka T, Kobayashi S, Nakazawa T, Ito K, Iikura Y, Baba M, Okuda M. Evaluation of allergen-specific IgE antibody and total IgE with a new IgE detection system named FAST: fluorescence allergosorbent test. Arerugi. 1992;41:93–105. - PubMed
    1. Sabbah A, Langlois P. The Pharmacia CAP system as a new measure of specific IgE. Application in the diagnosis of hypersensitivity to the venom of the Vespula wasp. Allerg Immunol (Paris) 1990;22:173–178. - PubMed