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Bet v 1-independent sensitization to major allergens in Fagales pollen: Evidence at the T-cell level
A collaboration of scientists from the Science-Educational center of the IBCh RAS and the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectology and Immunology of the Medical University of Vienna proved that the main allergens from the pollen from trees of the order Fagales, including alder Aln g 1, have the ability to cause Bet v 1-independent sensitization of the immune system in patients living in birch-dominated areas.
Polak D, Vollmann U, Grilo J, Bogdanov IV, Aglas L, Ovchinnikova TV
In birch-dominated areas, allergies to pollen from trees of the order Fagales are considered to be initiated by the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1. However, the sensitizing activity of Bet v 1-homologues in Fagales pollen remained underestimated. Allergen-specific T-cells play a crucial role in the process of human immune system sensitization, and the T-cell response to major allergens from alder, hazel, oak, hornbeam, chestnut, beech, and chestnut pollen has not yet been analyzed. Using overlapping 12-mer peptides, T-cell epitope mapping of the major alder pollen allergen Aln g 1 was performed using lymphocytes isolated from 8 patients with alder pollen allergy, and specific T-cell proliferation was assessed. Among 22 T-cell epitopes, which were found, two immunodominant T-cell epitopes were identified. A T-cell cross-reactivity study was conducted in which the proliferative response of T-cells specific to various pollen allergens upon stimulation with the birch pollen Bet v 1 was compared with the proliferative response of Aln g 1-specific T-cells upon stimulation with various allergens. IgE-competition experiments with Aln g 1 and Bet v 1 allergens have also been performed which showed that birch Bet v 1 inhibits IgE binding to alder Aln g 1 less effectively than the Aln g 1 allergen itself. A published study suggests that the humoral and cellular response of the human immune system to allergens from pollen from trees of the order Fagales is not mediated by cross-reactivity with the birch pollen Bet v 1, and also indicates the existence of Bet v 1-independent sensitization in individuals from birch tree-dominated areas.
This study has been published in Allergy (IF = 14.71).
february 13, 2023
Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/all.15594