title: Immunoblot studies in birch pollen-allergic patients with and without fruit hypersensitivity: part II: antibody pattern for fruit extracts.
abstract: Patients allergic to birch pollen also exhibit more hypersensitivity reactions to fresh fruits and vegetables than do patients allergic to other pollens. Several investigations have indicated a possible partial immunological identity between birch pollen and fruits. To study this, 23 birch pollen-allergic patients 12 with (FH+) and 11 without (FH-) fruit hypersensitivity and 10 nonatopic controls were examined with self-prepared apple-peel, cherry, and peach extracts by immunoblotting. The self-prepared extracts were characterized by histamine release studies with 20 FH+ birch pollen-allergic patients. Specific IgE, IgG, IgG1, IgG4, IgA, and IgM binding patterns of the fruit extracts presented an individual distribution with at least 1-3 IgE bands at varying molecular weight locations. The FH+ group expressed intense IgE binding to the different extracts compared to the FH- group, and even the control group showed all immunoglobulin classes, though different frequencies and intensities compared to the allergic groups. It seemed that the specific IgE > IgG > IgM relation to a single antigen is important for distinguishing between symptomatic and asymptomatic persons. With this hypothesis we found most IgE with less IgG binding to apple-peel in the region of 22-28 kd and 43-56 kd, cherry: 15-25 kd and 72- > 90 kd and peach 35-41 kd and 66-76 kd, suggesting that these proteins might be important for cross-reactivity with birch pollen and developing fruit hypersensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Allergy and Asthma Clinic, Charité Virchow-Klinikum, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jeep
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pilz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baisch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kleine-Tebbe
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ohnemus
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kunkel
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D029662:Betula / Q000276:immunology*; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D005638:Fruit / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000276:immunology; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D010936:Plant Extracts; D007073:Immunoglobulin E