EVALUATION OF RECOMBINANT ALLERGENS BET-V-1 AND BET-V-2 (PROFILIN) BYPHARMACIA CAP SYSTEM IN PATIENTS WITH POLLEN-RELATED ALLERGY TO BIRCHAND APPLE

Sixty-five patients presenting either rhinoconjunctivitis or asthma an d sensitized to pollens of trees of the order Fagales were studied by the Pharmacia CAP system in order to assess specific IgE for the impor tant birch pollen allergens Bet v 1 and Bet v 2. All 65 subjects react ed to at least one of the recombinant birch allergens: 43% to Bet v 1, 30.7% to Bet v 2, and 26% to both. Patients monosensitized to birch d id not react to Bet v 2. Of patients with a history of oral allergy sy ndrome after eating apples, 16/28 (57%) reacted to Bet v 1; among 20 p olysensitized subjects presenting oral allergy syndrome after consumpt ion of apple, four reacted to Bet v 2 (20%). Among patients with IgE a gainst both recombinant allergens, six (35.30%) presented symptoms of allergy after eating apples. Our results indicate that sensitization t o Bet v 1 is specific for birch and apple allergies, whereas sensitiza tion to Bet v 2 is common in polysensitized patients.