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Review
. 2016 Apr;16(4):31.
doi: 10.1007/s11882-016-0603-z.

Pollen Allergens for Molecular Diagnosis

Isabel Pablos  1 , Sabrina Wildner  2 , Claudia Asam  1 , Michael Wallner  1 , Gabriele Gadermaier  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Pollen Allergens for Molecular Diagnosis

Isabel Pablos et al. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

Pollen allergens are one of the main causes of type I allergies affecting up to 30% of the population in industrialized countries. Climatic changes affect the duration and intensity of pollen seasons and may together with pollution contribute to increased incidences of respiratory allergy and asthma. Allergenic grasses, trees, and weeds often present similar habitats and flowering periods compromising clinical anamnesis. Molecule-based approaches enable distinction between genuine sensitization and clinically mostly irrelevant IgE cross-reactivity due to, e. g., panallergens or carbohydrate determinants. In addition, sensitivity as well as specificity can be improved and lead to identification of the primary sensitizing source which is particularly beneficial regarding polysensitized patients. This review gives an overview on relevant pollen allergens and their usefulness in daily practice. Appropriate allergy diagnosis is directly influencing decisions for therapeutic interventions, and thus, reliable biomarkers are pivotal when considering allergen immunotherapy in the context of precision medicine.

Keywords: Grass pollen allergens; Molecule-based diagnosis; Pollen allergens; Tree pollen allergens; Weed pollen allergens.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Sequence identity matrix and 3D-models of allergenic protein families. a Ole e 1-like proteins and structure of Pla l 1.0101 (4Z8W), b pectate lyases and model of Amb a 1.0101 (template 1PXZ), and c lipid transfer proteins and model of Art v 3.0201 (template 2B5S). Multiple sequence alignments performed in Clustal Omega. Models were generated using Swiss-Model (www.swissmodel.expasy.org), and ribbon cartons are shown using UCSF Chimera (www.cgl.ucsf.edu/chimera). Green boxes represent demonstrated IgE cross-reactivity, light green boxes represent potential IgE cross-reactivity based on high sequence identity, red boxes represent no/limited demonstrated IgE cross-reactivity and light red boxes represent no/limited IgE cross-reactivity based on low sequence identity
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