Cross-allergenicity of pollens from the Compositae family: Artemisia vulgaris, Dendranthema grandiflorum, and Taraxacum officinale.
BACKGROUND
Chrysanthemum, dandelion, and mugwort belong to the Compositae (Asteraceae) family. Their cross-allergenicity has not yet been completely evaluated.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the sensitization and cross-allergenicity of these 3 plants.


METHODS
We reviewed 6,497 respiratory allergic patients who underwent skin prick tests (SPTs) during the last 10 years (1995-2005) and analyzed the sensitization rates of the 3 pollens. We sorted this population by wheal size and selected the monosensitized or cosensitized patients. Their serum samples were used to evaluate specific IgE (sIgE) and cross-allergenicity of the 3 pollens by CAP, immunoblotting, and inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).


RESULTS
On SPTs, mugwort, chrysanthemum, and dandelion sensitized 13.4%, 10.0%, and 8.5% of the enrolled population, respectively, and 5.2% of the population was cosensitized to all 3 pollens. Some patients were monosensitized to 1 species (1.5% to chrysanthemum, 1.4% to dandelion, and 4.5% to mugwort). In inhibition ELISA that used a pooled serum sample cosensitized to all 3 pollens, mugwort inhibited sIgE bindings to chrysanthemum, dandelion, and mugwort up to 95%, 86%, and 96%, respectively. The 50% inhibitory allergen concentrations for sIgE to each of the 3 species were not different between solid-phase antigen and mugwort. The mugwort sIgE of this pooled serum was suppressed up to 74% and 27% by chrysanthemum and dandelion, respectively. The 50% inhibitory allergen concentrations of chrysanthemum and dandelion for mugwort sIgE were 0.3 and 57.0 microg/mL, respectively, whereas that of mugwort was 0.05 microg/mL. We found a patient who was truly monosensitized to dandelion.


CONCLUSIONS
Chrysanthemum and dandelion were frequently cosensitized with mugwort in the general population with respiratory allergic diseases. These 2 species also showed extensive cross-allergenicity with mugwort. True monosensitization to these 2 species was possible.
Lee
Yong Won
YW
Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Choi
Soo Young
SY
Lee
Eun Kyung
EK
Sohn
Jung Ho
JH
Park
Jung-Won
JW
Hong
Chein-Soo
CS
D000328:Adult; D019659:Asteraceae / Q000276:immunology*; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000276:immunology*
D007073:Immunoglobulin E