Recombinant Allergens for Diagnosis of Cockroach Allergy

• Published in: Current allergy and asthma reports Vol. 14; no. 4; p. 428
• Main Authors: Arruda, L. Karla, Barbosa, Michelle C. R., Santos, Ana Beatriz R., Moreno, Adriana S., Chapman, Martin D., Pomés, Anna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.04.2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Allergens (RK Bush and Ja Woodfolk; Allergens - immunology; Allergology; Animals; Asthma - diagnosis; Asthma - immunology; Cockroaches - immunology; Cross Reactions; Humans; Immunoglobulin E - blood; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Recombinant Proteins - immunology; Section Editors; Skin Tests; Topical Collection on Allergens; Cockroach; Allergy; Allergen cross-reactivity; Recombinant allergens; Allergen structure; Tropomyosin; IgE; Molecular cloning; Skin testing; Asthma; Allergy diagnosis
• ISSN: 1529-7322; 1534-6315
• DOI: 10.1007/s11882-014-0428-6

Molecular cloning of cockroach allergens and their expression as recombinant proteins have allowed a better understanding of the mechanisms of cockroach allergic disease. Recombinant cockroach allergens have been used for skin testing or in vitro methods to measure IgE antibody levels in serum. Early studies evaluating selected U.S. patients revealed that a cocktail of four cockroach allergens, Bla g 1, Bla g 2, Bla g 4, and Bla g 5, would identify 95 % of cockroach allergic patients. More recent studies pointed to an important role of sensitization to tropomyosin among certain populations, and suggested that a cocktail of five allergens Bla g 1 and/or Per a 1, Bla g 2, Bla g 4, Bla g 5, and Bla g 7, and/or Per a 7, would be expected to diagnose 50– 64 % of cockroach-allergic patients worldwide. Variation in IgE reactivity profiles could be in part due to IgE responses to cross-reactive homologous allergens from different origins. The availability of purified natural or recombinant cockroach allergens provides the capacity to improve diagnosis of cockroach allergy and to develop novel forms of immunotherapy for cockroach-allergic patients.