IGE CROSS-REACTIVITY BETWEEN MUGWORT POLLEN (ARTEMISIA-VULGARIS) AND HAZELNUT (ABELLANA-NUX) IN SERA FROM PATIENTS WITH SENSITIVITY TO BOTHEXTRACTS

Background An association between sensitization to Compositae pollens and hypersensitivity to hazelnut has been previously described. There is no previous in vitro study about crossreactivity between mugwort po llen and hazelnut. Objectives To study mugwort pollen and hazelnut all ergens and to assess if there is IgE crossreactivity between mugwort p ollen and hazelnut. Methods A serum pool formed by 28 individual sera with specific IgE to mugwort pollen and hazelnut was used to investiga te IgE crossreactivity. RAST-inhibition, SDS-PAGE/IEF immunoblotting i nhibition assays were performed by preincubation of the sera with mugw ort pollen and hazelnut. Results RAST to hazelnut was inhibited up to 63% by mugwort pollen, but the mugwort pollen RAST was only inhibited up to 36% by hazelnut. In SDS-PAGE immunoblotting mugwort pollen showe d nine allergens ranging from <16 to 65 kDa and hazelnut had four main allergens: 42 kDa, 17 kDa and <16 kDa (two bands). In the SDS-PAGE im munoblotting inhibition hazelnut partially inhibited all the mugwort p ollen bands, except that with 19 kDa, whereas mugwort pollen produced a nearly total inhibition of all the hazelnut allergens. In isoelectro focusing immunoblotting mugwort pollen had two groups of allergens: pI 7.5-8.5 and pI 3.5-5.2 and hazelnut one group of allergens: pI 5.2-5. 8. In the isoelectrofocusing immunoblotting inhibition hazelnut produc ed a partial inhibition of all the bands of mugwort pollen and mugwort pollen partially inhibited all the allergenic bands of hazelnut. Conc lusions The RAST and SDS-PAGE/IEF immunoblotting inhibition results pr ovide evidence of IgE cross reactivity between mugwort pollen and haze lnut allergens. The inhibition of hazelnut by mugwort pollen is higher than the inhibition of mugwort pollen by hazelnut in both RAST inhibi tion and SDS-PAGE immunoblotting inhibition. These results suggest tha t mugwort pollen allergens would behave as primary immunogens in the a ssociation between sensitivity to mugwort pollen and hazelnut.