IgE response to Aed al 13 and Aed al 14 recombinant allergens from Aedes albopictus saliva in humans

• Published in: The World Allergy Organization journal Vol. 16; no. 11; p. 100836
• Main Authors: Arnoldi, Irene, Villa, Marta, Mancini, Giulia, Varotto-Boccazzi, Ilaria, Yacoub, Mona-Rita, Asperti, Chiara, Mascheri, Ambra, Casiraghi, Simone, Epis, Sara, Bandi, Claudio, Dagna, Lorenzo, Forneris, Federico, Gabrieli, Paolo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.11.2023; World Allergy Organization; Elsevier
• Subjects: Allergens; Culicidae; Full Length; Insect proteins; Saliva; Venom hypesentivity; Allergens; Venom hypesentivity; Insect proteins; Saliva; Culicidae
• ISSN: 1939-4551; 1939-4551
• DOI: 10.1016/j.waojou.2023.100836

Mosquito bite is normally associated with mild allergic responses, but severe localized or systemic reactions are also possible. Reliable tools for the diagnosis of mosquito allergy are still unavailable. Here, we investigated the IgE response to three potential salivary allergens identified in the saliva of the tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus. Serum from 55 adult individuals (28 controls and 27 allergic people), were analysed using an in-house ELISA against the Salivary Gland Extract (SGE) and the recombinant proteins albD7l2 (Aed al 2), albAntigen5-3 (Aed al 13) and albLIPS-2 (Aed al 14). Fifteen of the twenty-seven (56 %) individuals having hypersensitive reactions to mosquito bites had IgE serum levels recognizing SGE. Negative sera did not show detectable levels of IgE targeting the SGE from the most common sympatric mosquito Culex pipiens. Among the positive individuals, two subjects displayed IgE targeting Aed al 2 (13 %), while IgE recognizing Aed al 13 and Aed al 14 were detected in ten (67 %) and seven (47 %) individuals, respectively. Two sera from non-hypersensitive subjects had detectable levels of IgE targeting Aed al 13, suggesting possible cross-reaction with the homologue salivary proteins of multiple mosquito species or, more generally, of hematophagous insects. Our results indicate that Aed al 13 and Aed al 14 hold the potential to be developed as tool for the diagnosis of allergy to Ae. albopictus bites. Such tool would facilitate epidemiological studies on tiger mosquito allergy in humans and might foster the development of further protein-based assays to investigate cross-species allergies.