Decrease in the allergenicity of Japanese cedar pollen allergen by treatment with positive and negative cluster ions.
BACKGROUND
Japanese cedar pollinosis is a severe allergic disease in Japan. The most effective means of decreasing allergic inflammation reactions is still avoidance of the aeroallergen. Recently, a novel air purification system using positively and negatively charged cluster ions was developed to create comfortable living environments. We aimed to assess the ability of existing technology to lower allergenicity of Japanese cedar pollen.


METHODS
A Japanese cedar pollen extract was nebulized from the top of a cylindrical container with 2 or 4 ion-generating devices. The extract in a mist was passed through the space filled with or without plasma cluster ions for 90 s, and the ion-treated or nontreated extract was then collected in a Petri dish at the bottom of the container.


RESULTS
The ion-exposed extract was significantly diminished in its reactivities to anti-Cry j 1 or anti-Cry j 2 antiserum and to human allergic sera IgE on ELISA. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that ion exposure induced protein degradation in the pollen extract. Similarly, the ion treatment impaired about 80% of the binding to pooled sera IgE from patients allergic to Japanese cedar pollen on ELISA inhibition. Furthermore, intracutaneous and conjunctival reaction tests showed a remarkable diminution in the allergenicity of the ion-irradiated extract.


CONCLUSIONS
Ion irradiation resulted in a remarkable decrease in in vitro and in vivo allergenicities of atomized Japanese cedar pollen extracts.
Kawamoto
Seiji
S
Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan.
Oshita
Masatosi
M
Fukuoka
Norihiko
N
Shigeta
Seiko
S
Aki
Tsunehiro
T
Hayashi
Takaharu
T
Nishikawa
Kazuo
K
Ono
Kazuhisa
K
D000390:Air Ionization; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000517:prevention & control; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D028203:Cedrus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000276:immunology; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology*
D000485:Allergens; D010936:Plant Extracts