Detection of immunoglobulin antibodies in the sera of patients using purified latex allergens

Background Latex allergy is largely an occupational allergy due to sensitiz ation to natural rubber latex allergens present in a number of health care and household products. Although several purified allergens are currently a vailable for study, information on the usefulness of these purified, native or recombinant allergens in the demonstration of specific immunoglobulin ( Ig) E in the sera of patients is lacking. Objective To evaluate the purified latex allergens and to demonstrate speci fic IgE antibody in the sera of health care workers and spina bifida patien ts with clinical latex allergy. Methods Two radioallergosorbent and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (E LISA) using latex proteins Hev b 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 along with two glove e xtracts and Malaysian nonammoniated latex (MNA) were evaluated to demonstra te IgE in the sera of health care workers and spina bifida with latex aller gy and controls with no history of latex allergy. Results ELISA using the purified latex allergens demonstrated specific IgE in 32-65% health care workers and 54-100% of spina bifida patients with lat ex allergy. The corresponding figures for RAST were 13-48 and 23-85 for RAS T-1 and 19-61 and 36-57 for RAST-2. These results were comparable with the results obtained with glove extracts and crude rubber latex proteins. Conclusions When used simultaneously, latex proteins Hev b 2 and Hev b 7 re acted significantly with specific serum IgE in 80% of health care workers a nd 92% of spina bifida patients with latex allergy by ELISA technique, whil e this combination gave lower positivity when the RASTs were used. By the a ddition of Hev b 3, specific IgE was detected in all spina bifida patients with latex allergy. Both RASTs failed to show specific IgE in the control s ubjects, while the ELISA showed significant latex-specific IgE in 22% of co ntrols.