Autor(es):
Buters, Jeroen T.M. 
; Thibaudon, Michel ; Smith, Matt ; Kennedy, Roy ; Rantio-Lehtimäki, Auli ; Albertini, Roberto ; Reese, Gerald ; Weber, Bernhard ; Galan, Carmen ; Brandao, Rui ; Antunes, Celia ; Jäger, Siegfried ; Berger, Uwe ; Celenk, Sevcan ; Grewling, ¿?ukasz ; Jackowiak, Bogdan ; Sauliene, Ingrida ; Weichenmeier, Ingrid ; Pusch, Gudrun ; Sarioglu, Hakan ; Ueffing, Marius ; Behrendt, Heidrun ; Prank, Marje ; Sofiev, Mikhial ; Cecchi, Lorenzo
Data: 2012
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/7255
Origem: Repositório Científico da Universidade de Évora
Assunto(s): aeroallergens; aerobiology; Europe; Hialine project; pollen; Bet v 1
Descrição
Exposure to allergens is pivotal in determining sensitization and allergic symptoms in individuals. Pollen
grain counts in ambient air have traditionally been assessed to estimate airborne allergen exposure.
However, the exact allergen content of ambient air is unknown. We therefore monitored atmospheric
concentrations of birch pollen grains and the matched major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 simultaneously
across Europe within the EU-funded project HIALINE (Health Impacts of Airborne Allergen Information
Network).
Pollen count was assessed with Hirst type pollen traps at 10 l min 1 at sites in France, United Kingdom,
Germany, Italy and Finland. Allergen concentrations in ambient air were sampled at 800 l min 1 with
a Chemvol high-volume cascade impactor equipped with stages PM > 10 mm, 10 mm > PM > 2.5 mm, and
in Germany also 2.5 mm > PM > 0.12 mm. The major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 was determined with an
allergen specific ELISA. Bet v 1 isoform patterns were analyzed by 2D-SDS-PAGE blots and mass spectrometric
identification. Basophil activation was tested in an Fc 3R1-humanized rat basophil cell line
passively sensitized with serum of a birch pollen symptomatic patient.
Compared to 10 previous years, 2009 was a representative birch pollen season for all stations. About
90% of the allergen was found in the PM > 10 mm fraction at all stations. Bet v 1 isoforms pattern did not
vary substantially neither during ripening of pollen nor between different geographical locations. The
average European allergen release from birch pollen was 3.2 pg Bet v 1/pollen and did not vary much
between the European countries. However, in all countries a >10-fold difference in daily allergen release
per pollen was measured which could be explained by long-range transport of pollen with a deviating allergen release. Basophil activation by ambient air extracts correlated better with airborne allergen than
with pollen concentration.
Although Bet v 1 is a mixture of different isoforms, its fingerprint is constant across Europe. Bet v 1 was
also exclusively linked to pollen. Pollen from different days varied >10-fold in allergen release. Thus
exposure to allergen is inaccurately monitored by only monitoring birch pollen grains. Indeed,
a humanized basophil activation test correlated much better with allergen concentrations in ambient air
than with pollen count. Monitoring the allergens themselves together with pollen in ambient air might
be an improvement in allergen exposure assessment
