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Review
. 2021 Feb 3;21(2):7.
doi: 10.1007/s11882-020-00982-w.

The Role of Lipid Transfer Proteins as Food and Pollen Allergens Outside the Mediterranean Area

Stephan Scheurer  1 , Ronald van Ree  2 , Stefan Vieths  3
Affiliations
Review

The Role of Lipid Transfer Proteins as Food and Pollen Allergens Outside the Mediterranean Area

Stephan Scheurer et al. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: To provide an overview of the prevalence and clinical manifestation of non-specific lipid transfer proteins (LTP)-mediated allergies outside the Mediterranean area and to address potential reasons for the different geographical significance of LTP-driven allergies.

Recent findings: LTPs are major allergens in the Mediterranean area, which frequently can elicit severe reactions. Pru p 3 the LTP from peach is reported as genuine allergen and is considered a prototypic marker for LTP-mediated allergies. However, both food and pollen LTP allergies exist outside the Mediterranean area, but with lower clinical significance, different immunogenicity, and less clarified role. Evidence has been reported that in areas with high exposure to pollen, in particular to mugwort, pollen-derived LTPs can act as a primary sensitizer to trigger secondary food allergies. Co-sensitization to unrelated allergens might be causative for less severe reactions in response to LTPs. However, the reason for the geographical different sensitization patterns to LTPs remains unclear.

Keywords: LTP; LTP syndrome; Mugwort; Non-specific lipid transfer protein; Pru p 3.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Model of Pru p 3 induced mast cell (MC) activation in patients with LTP mono-sensitization (left) and patients co-sensitized to unrelated allergens (right), e.g., from birch pollen or the same source (profilin and Bet v 1-like protein). Due to the high density of LTP-specific IgE on the surface of MC in LTP mono-sensitized patients, Pru p 3 efficiently induces mediator release which corresponds with a higher probability of severe reactions
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