title: Cross-reactions vs co-sensitization evaluated by in silico motifs and in vitro IgE microarray testing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Using an in silico allergen clustering method, we have recently shown that allergen extracts are highly cross-reactive. Here we used serological data from a multi-array IgE test based on recombinant or highly purified natural allergens to evaluate whether co-reactions are true cross-reactions or co-sensitizations by allergens with the same motifs.
  
  
  METHODS
  The serum database consisted of 3142 samples, each tested against 103 highly purified natural or recombinant allergens. Cross-reactivity was predicted by an iterative motif-finding algorithm through sequence motifs identified in 2708 known allergens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Allergen proteins containing the same motifs cross-reacted as predicted. However, proteins with identical motifs revealed a hierarchy in the degree of cross-reaction: The more frequent an allergen was positive in the allergic population, the less frequently it was cross-reacting and vice versa. Co-sensitization was analyzed by splitting the dataset into patient groups that were most likely sensitized through geographical occurrence of allergens. Interestingly, most co-reactions are cross-reactions but not co-sensitizations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The observed hierarchy of cross-reactivity may play an important role for the future management of allergic diseases.
authors: University Institute of Immunology, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Pfiffner
authors: B M
authors: BM
authors: Stadler
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Rasi
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Scala
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Mari
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs / Q000276:immunology; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D040081:Protein Array Analysis / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D007073:Immunoglobulin E