Measurement of Ara h 1-, 2-, and 3-specific IgE antibodies is useful in diagnosis of peanut allergy in Japanese children

• Published in: Pediatric allergy and immunology 2012-09, Vol.23 (6), p.573-581
• Main Authors: Ebisawa, Motohiro, Movérare, Robert, Sato, Sakura, Maruyama, Nobuyuki, Borres, Magnus P., Komata, Takatsugu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 2S Albumins, Plant - immunology; Adolescent; Allergens; Allergic diseases; Antigens, Plant - immunology; Ara h 1 antigen; Arachis hypogaea; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; atopic-dermatitis; Biological and medical sciences; challenge; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; component-resolved diagnostics; cross-reactivity; Diets; Digestive allergic diseases; double-blind; Female; Food allergies; food challenge; Food hypersensitivity; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; General aspects; Glycoproteins - immunology; Humans; Immunoblotting; Immunoblotting - methods; ImmunoCAP; Immunoglobulin E; Immunoglobulin E - blood; Immunoglobulin E - immunology; Immunoglobulins; Immunopathology; Male; Medical sciences; Nuts; peanut; Peanut Hypersensitivity - diagnosis; Peanut Hypersensitivity - immunology; Peanuts; Pediatrics; Pediatrik; phage display; Plant Proteins - immunology; profilin; purification; recombinant allergens; Sarcoidosis. Granulomatous diseases of unproved etiology. Connective tissue diseases. Elastic tissue diseases. Vasculitis; Sensitivity and Specificity; Serologic Tests - methods; skin prick tests
• ISSN: 0905-6157; 1399-3038; 1399-3038
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2012.01332.x

To cite this article: Ebisawa M, Movérare R, Sato S, Maruyama N, Borres MP, Komata T. Measurement of Ara h 1‐, 2‐, and 3‐specific IgE antibodies is useful in diagnosis of peanut allergy in Japanese children. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2012: 23: 573–581. Background:  Food challenges are time‐consuming, expensive, and not always possible to perform. Therefore, new tools to diagnose food allergy are desired. The aim was to evaluate IgE antibodies to peanut allergens in the diagnosis of peanut allergy in Japanese children using ImmunoCAP® and IgE immunoblotting. Methods:  The study included 2–13‐yr‐old consecutive patients (n = 57) referred to our specialist clinic for investigation of current peanut allergy using food challenge. All children had a previous doctor’s diagnosis of peanut allergy and were on elimination diet. Serum samples were analyzed for IgE reactivity to peanut, recombinant (r) Ara h 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9. IgE immunoblotting (n = 23) was performed using extracts from raw and roasted peanut. Results:  Twenty‐six of the children failed (allergic group), and 31 passed the peanut challenge (tolerant group). The rAra h 2 ImmunoCAP test was superior in its ability to differentiate between children in the allergic and tolerant groups with a sensitivity and specificity of 88% and 84%, respectively (cutoff, 0.35 kUA/l). The combination of rAra h 1, 2, and 3 resulted in a higher specificity (94%) when IgE to all of them was the criteria for positivity. ImmunoCAP generally showed a good agreement with immunoblotting using both raw and roasted peanut for IgE reactivity to Ara h 1, 2, and 3. Conclusions:  Measurement of IgE antibodies to rAra h 1, 2, and 3 is useful in the diagnosis of peanut allergy and in the investigation of reactions to raw and roasted peanut.