title: Diagnosis of Parietaria judaica pollen allergy using natural and recombinant Par j 1 and Par j 2 allergens.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parietaria judaica pollen is one of the main causes of allergic diseases in the Mediterranean area and contains two major allergens, called Par j 1 and Par j 2.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the diagnostic potential of natural and recombinant forms of Par j 1 and Par j 2 in comparison with standardized P. judaica pollen extract.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients allergic to P. judaica pollen and 15 control patients were investigated. Skin prick tests and determination of specific IgE levels were performed with commercial P. judaica extract, natural Par j 1 and Par j 2, and recombinant forms of both allergens expressed in P. pastoris.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The whole group of patients with allergy to P. judaica had a positive skin test reaction to purified nPar j 1-Par j 2 and rPar j 2 at 5 microg/mL, and no false-positive reactions were detected. Natural and recombinant Par j 1 and Par j 2 showed no significantly different responses in skin tests compared with P. judaica extract. A high correlation was found between the serum-specific IgE levels to P. judaica extract vs. natural (R=0.996; P<0.001) and recombinant allergens (R=0.887 and 0.982 for rPar j 1 and rPar j 2, respectively; P<0.001). rPar j 2 displayed a 100% sensitivity and specificity among P. judaica-allergic patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In vivo and in vitro diagnosis of P. judaica pollen allergy could be simplified using rPar j 2. This protein showed comparable IgE response and skin prick reactivity with those produced by P. judaica pollen extract.
authors.affiliation: Research & Development Department, Bial-Arístegui, Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: González-Rioja
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrer
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Arilla
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ibarrola
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Viguera
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andreu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Asturias
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D032403:Parietaria / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D010940:Plant Proteins; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012882:Skin Tests
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; C105336:PMAI protein, Parietaria judaica; C506384:Par j 2 allergen, Parietaria; D010940:Plant Proteins