title: A method for the analysis of milk and egg allergens for the atopy patch test.
abstract: The patch test with food antigens (atopy patch test, APT) has been reported as a more specific method than prick or RAST for the early detection of cow's milk and/or egg sensitizations in children. Standardization of APT extracts is a major issue on the road towards full clinical exploitation of this assay. Here, we used sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to characterize sensitivity and specificity of commercial preparations of APT for milk and egg allergies, which are expected to improve the reliability of this test, when compared with fresh food allergen sources. We found that: (i) SDS-PAGE is an appropriate technique for quality control of APT and (ii) commercial milk and egg APT are equivalent to fresh food preparations in terms of allergen content. Clinical trials aimed at characterizing sensitivity and specificity of APT in the diagnosis of food allergy in children will benefit from this technique.
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ballabio
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fiocchi
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martelli
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pecora
authors.forename: Samuele E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Burastero
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Restani
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D021181:Egg Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D015387:Egg Proteins, Dietary / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D004529:Egg White / Q000737:chemistry; D004530:Egg Yolk / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D016269:Milk Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D010328:Patch Tests / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D015387:Egg Proteins, Dietary; D008894:Milk Proteins