Application of recombinant allergens in allergologic diagnostics

Application of recombinant allergens in allergologic diagnostics Allergological diagnostics and therapy are performed with native allergen extracts so far. These extracts contain a mixture of proteins from pure allergen sources of different allergenicity. With the introduction of genetic engineering techniques single allergen components can be separated and recombinantly produced. The importance of single allergen proteins is explained by the example of timothy grass and birch pollen, which reflect leading allergens in their plant families. Timothy grass reaches its high allergenicity by the marker allergens Phi p 1 and 5 as major allergens and Phi p 7 and 12 as minor allergens. In analogy Bet v 1 is the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v 2 and 4 are the relevant minor allergens. IgE antibodies (AB) against minor allergens lead in the absence of major allergen AB to an apparent poly-sensitization. These minor allergens represent profilins and calcium-binding proteins (CBP) as pan-allergen families. Profilins as well as CBPs have high rates of cross reactivity in their groups und can be responsible for the intolerance of many vegetable and animal foods. Further relevant pan-allergen families are tropomyosins, prolamins, and cupins. In summary, recombinant allergens provide the expansion of the diagnostic spectrum in serological allergy diagnostics. By excellent IgE binding ability, recombinant allergens are suitable for cutaneous as well as for in vitro diagnostics. This turns out to be a special advantage in clinical practice in the detection of primary allergies in poly-sensitized patients. In the future patient-tailored therapies and preventive vaccinations are imaginable.