"New" inhalant plant allergens

Abstract

Specific IgE measurements obtained from patients suffering from respiratory allergy (n = 952) show that, despite similar climatic conditions, there are clear regional differences in pollen sensitization between North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria. The data on sensitization levels and pollen concentration was taken from the research and development project Ufoplan 3710 61 228 of the German Environment Agency for North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria (2011 - 2014). Most poly-sensitized patients have already shown sensitization, both in the form of cross-reactivity and species-specific sensitization, to "new" pollen allergens, such as Bermuda grass and olive tree. These plants are currently not common in Germany, but may become considerably more widespread due to the increase in average yearly temperatures caused by the global warming. The other "new" aeroallergens discussed here are plants that can be found throughout Germany, such as nettle, cypress, and pine. Their current sensitization levels are higher than 8%; however, their clinical impact appears to be underestimated. For clinical practice it is important to identify when patients' symptoms are typically severe and which regional plants might be responsible for the patients' complaints in this period of time, as this affects further diagnostic strategy. Allergens having an immune effect can then be targeted by specific immunotherapies. The information on complaints of the patients should be regularly recorded in symptom diaries. Recording this information for at least 1 year may allow to discover a correlation between specific types of pollen and allergy symptoms.

Keywords: Bermuda grass; climate change; common ragweed; cypress; measuring pollen count; nettle; new inhalant plant allergens; olive; pine; wind pollination.

Figure 1.. Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica “Fastigiata”) flowering, monoecious: male cones in the foreground, female cone flowers and cones with seeds in the background.

Figure 2.. Olive, flowering and fruiting.

Figure 3.. Dog’s tooth grass (Bermuda grass).

Figure 4.. Pellitory on the left, stinging nettle on the right in the foreground. Simultaneous occurrence of different plants of the Urticaceae family in one location is rare.