Abstract
Type I hypersensitivity or allergic disease is mediated by immunoglobulins E (IgE) that specifically recognize certain allergens, causing unwanted responses in the organism, which can lead to symptoms such as rhinitis, conjunctivitis, bronchial asthma, urticaria, angioedema or even anaphylaxis. Mite allergy is one of the most important, because is highly extended through population, also being the main cause of asthma exacerbations. Furthermore, mites are widely represented geographically, and avoidance measures are not quite effective. Mites are found in house dust throughout the year, so patients are suffering symptoms continuously. For these reasons, allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is indicated for these allergic patients. The objective of this project is to carry out a specific IgE (sIgE) diagnosis, and cross-reactivity assays, to define an appropriate treatment for mite allergic patients, which have positive results against two different mite species. For this reason, a diagnosis method will be established to elucidate the sensitization profile of mite allergic people, and to analyse possible cross-reactivity reactions between Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Lepidoglyphus destructor mite species. Cross-reactivity will be studied through inhibition assays, in order to measure the specificity of patients IgE. The quantification of sIgE concentration on serum will be carried out by means of immunoassays on the automated platform ImmunoCAP-250, widely used in hospitals and laboratories for this purpose. In cross-reactivity assays two allergenic extracts purified in ALK-Abelló laboratories, from cultures of mites of the species D. pteronyssinus and L. destructor, will be used as inhibitors. The results show which treatment would be suitable for each patient depending on observed species sensitization. Moreover, it was found that the percentage of patients in which cross-reactivity phenomena occurred was low, less than 50%. Therefore, some patients will need a double treatment as they are sensitized to the two species of mites analysed. Also, it was observed that sensitization to D. pteronyssinus is more prevalent than sensitization to L. destructor. In conclusion, the method developed for the study of this type of patients is effective and shows high precision, repeatability, and reproducibility.
