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Reduced allergenicities of irradiated egg white ovalbumin determined by skin prick test and ELISA inhibition test.

Gye Ree JEON ; Ju Woon LEE ; Myung Woo BYUN ; Soo Young LEE

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2002;22(4):711-719.

BACKGROUND: Hen's egg is the most frequent cause of food hypersensitivity in infants and young children. The major egg white(EW) proteins are ovalbumin(OVA), ovomucoid(OM), ovotransferrine, and lysozyme. OVA and OM have been generally considered to be the most allergic EW proteins. Food irradiation has been permitted in the fields of agriculture and food handling. Currently, it was suggested that the binding ability of specific IgE to gamma-irradiated OVA was rapidly decreased depending upon the irradiation dose. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the application of food irradiation technology as a method for reducing the allergenicities of EW proteins. METHODS: A total of 10 egg-allergic patients less than 24 months of age were enrolled in this study. OVA was gamma-irradiated at 10 kGy in an aqueous state(2.0 mg/mL). Skin prick test and ELISA inhibition test were done to compare the IgE binding capacities before and after irradiation of OVA. RESULTS: One hundred percent of patients showed positive skin reactions with EW and native-OVA. Negative skin reactions to irradiated-OVA were observed in 7 of 10 patients and remainder 3 showed reduced skin reactions(p=0.001). In IgE-ELISA inhibition test, the IgE-binding capacities of irradiated-OVA reduced 1/80 (50% inhibition concentration: native-OVA-0.1 microgram/mL, irradiated-OVA-8 microgram/mL), respectively. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the allergenicity of OVA can be reduced by the treatment with gamma irradiation.
Agriculture ; Child ; Conalbumin ; Egg Hypersensitivity ; Egg White* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* ; Food Handling ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Food Irradiation ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Infant ; Muramidase ; Ovalbumin* ; Ovum* ; Skin*

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Tyrophagus putrescentiae: An imporiant allergen in Daejeon.

Jae Young LEE

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2002;22(4):703-710.

BACKGROUND: Tyrophagus putrescentiae is one of the storage mites found not only within storehouses but also in the house dust, and is known as the third most common mite following Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae in houses in Korea. There has been few reports on its sensitization rate in this country. OBJECT: The aim of this study was to evaluate its sensitization rate and clinical features of T. putrescentiae sensitized patients with allergic diseases in Daejeon area. METHODS: Skin prick tests with 33 common inhalant allergens including Tetranychus urticae and T. putrescentiae were done in 308 allergy patients who had visited Allergy Clinic of Eulji University Hospital from June, 2001 to April, 2002, and their clinical characteristics of these patients were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 193(62.7%) out of 308 patients showed positive responses to more than one allergen. The prevalence of sensitization was highest for mites(51.9%) followed by cockroach (25.0%), weeds pollens(17.5%), animal epithelium(16.9%), fungi(16.2%), grasses pollens(15.6%) and tree pollens(14.6%). Among mites, sensitization rate to T. urticae was highest as 128 (41.6%), followed by D. farinae, 96(31.2%), T. putrescentiae, 95(30.8%), and D. pteronyssinus, 92(29.9%). Among positive responders to mites, eight patients with perennial asthma were sensitized to T. putrescentiae only. Sensitization to D. farinae and animal epithelium were more prevalent in Deajeon city compared to surrounding rural areas (for D. farinae, 72/203(35.5%) vs. 24/105(22.9%) respectively. P=.024, and for animal epithelium, 42/203(20.7%) vs. 10/105 (9.5%) respectively. P=.013). CONCLUSION: Tyrophagus putrescentiae was one of the most common inhalant allergens as well as house dust mite and two spotted spider mite in patients visiting an Allergy Clinic in Daejeon area. Further study will be needed to elucidate the clinical significance of T. putres-centiae -sensitized patients.
Acaridae ; Allergens ; Animals ; Asthma ; Cockroaches ; Daejeon ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ; Dust ; Epithelium ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Mites ; Poaceae ; Prevalence ; Pyroglyphidae ; Skin ; Tetranychidae

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Parental predisposition to atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

Sang Hoon KIM ; Sung Chul HONG ; Sun Sin KIM ; Yoon Seok CHANG ; Joon Woo BAHN ; Yoon Keun KIM ; Sang Heon CHO ; You Young KIM ; Kyung Up MIN

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2002;22(4):695-702.

BACKGROUND: Atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) which are characteristics of asthma, are strongly correlated but independently inherited traits. The relative contribution of maternal and paternal condition to the risk of offspring's condition is not certain. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate maternal or paternal contribution to childhood atopy and BHR in a population-based sample of 140 Korean nuclear families. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 486 subjects (133 mothers, 132 fathers and 221 offsprings) participated in this study. All subjects provided questionnaire data and 483 subjects underwent allergy skin prick test with 13 inhalant allergens. Total serum IgE levels were determined in 444 subjects and methacholine bronchial provocation test were performed in 483 subjects. RESULTS: Serum total IgE level in the offspring was correlated with both maternal and paternal total IgE (mother: R=0.273, p<0.01; father: R=0.200, p<0.01). Bronchial hyperres ponsiveness was associated with parental atopy index (mother: R=0.175, p<0.01; father: R=0.205, p<0.01) and maternal BHR(R=0.201, p<0.01). The development of wheezing in the offspring was significantly associated with maternal BHR, but not paternal. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that maternal BHR does confer more risk than paternal BHR to risk of offspring's BHR.
Allergens ; Asthma ; Bronchial Provocation Tests ; Fathers ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoglobulin E ; Methacholine Chloride ; Mothers ; Nuclear Family ; Parents* ; Respiratory Sounds ; Skin ; Surveys and Questionnaires

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Changes in airway eosinophils and bone marrow eosinophil progenitors following allergen-challenge in mouse model of asthma.

Young Ik SEO ; Jong Myung LEE ; Nung Soo KIM

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2002;22(4):685-694.

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic airway inflammation is a characteristic feature of bronchial asthma. Recent studies showed that increased production and release of eosinophils from bone marrow(BM) might be the essential step in the development of eosinophilic airway inflammation. To testify the hypothesis that increase in BM eosinophil production may be an important determinant of the severity of airway eosinophilia, their relationship was studied in a mouse model of allergic airway inflammation. METHODS: BALB/c mice were sensitized with intraperitoneal ovalbumin adsorbed to aluminum potassium sulfate, followed by challenges with intranasal ovalbumin on two consecutive days. Saline was used for sensitization and challenge in control mice. Bronchoalveolar lavage(BAL) was performed at 24 h after last nasal challenge, immediately followed by BM cell harvest from the femurs. The severity of airway inflammation was assessed as BAL eosinophilia, and the capacity of BM eosinophil production was assessed as BM eosinophil colony forming units(Eo-CFUs) using a semisolid culture assay. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in the percentage of BAL eosinophils and lymphocytes with a resultant decrease in the percentage of alveolar macrophages in the ovalbumin- treated mice, compared with the saline-treated mice(p<0.05, respectively). Change in the percentage of neutrophils was not statistically significant. Compared with the saline-treated mice, the number of BM Eo-CFUs was significantly increased in the ovalbumin- treated mice(p<0.05). But the number of BM Eo-CFUs was not correlated significantly with the number of eosinophils in BAL fluid in the ovalbumin-treated mice. CONCLUSION: Respiratory exposure to allergen induced not only airway eosinophilia but also BM eosinophilopoiesis in this mice model of asthma. However there was no direct relationship between BM eosinophilopoiesis and airway eosinophilia, suggesting that the capacity of eosino-phil production in BM may not an important determinant of severity of airway eosinophilia.
Aluminum ; Animals ; Asthma* ; Bone Marrow* ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils* ; Femur ; Inflammation ; Lymphocytes ; Macrophages, Alveolar ; Mice* ; Neutrophils ; Ovalbumin ; Potassium

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Relationship between total IgE and Epstein Barr virus infection during infancy and early childhood.

Mi Kyung LEE ; Gil Ho CHO ; Kye Sung KIM ; Yook JANG ; Hye Young YUM ; Man Yong HAN

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2002;22(4):679-684.

BACKGROUND: The 'hygiene hypothesis', the apparent inverse relationship between certain childhood infections and the subsequent development of asthma and atopy, has been gaining attention and is currently now considered one of the most plausible explanations for the cause of asthma and atopy currently. OBJECTIVE: We tried to evaluate the relationship between Epstein Barr virus infection in infancy and early childhood with total IgE, the hallmark of atopy. with these results, we observed the changing pattern of total IgE levels according to the ages that EBV infection occured. METHODS: The study population, a total of 75 patients were divided by age: under 2 years of age, under 3 years of age, under 4 years of age and then they were divided into the two groups : EBNA negative and EBNA positive groups. EBNA and IgE were measured by ELISA and CLA respectively. We analyzed the relationships between age, sex, family history, atopic predisposition, total eosinophils, log IgE, and positivity of EBNA stastically. RESULTS: Prevalence of EBNA positivity was 26% in children 1-3 years of age. Among the six variables, log IgE showed statistically significant difference in the two groups under 2 years of age and under 3 years of age. In the group of under 2 years of age, mean log IgE in EBNA positive group was 0.7 IU/mL and EBNA negative group was 1.3 IU/mL, these differences were significant statistically (p<0.05). In the group of under 3 years of age , mean log IgE in EBNA positive group was 0.8 IU/mL and EBNA negative group was 1.5 IU/mL, these differences were statistically significant(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study showed that Ebstein Barr virus infection before 3 years of age is associated with lower log IgE. This means that there is a possibility of a negative influence in the prevalence of allergic disease by EBV infection in children before 3 years of age.
Asthma ; Child ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Eosinophils ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; Hygiene Hypothesis ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Prevalence

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A case of Churg-Strauss syndrome presenting with acute respiratory failure due to diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage.

Byung Wan LEE ; Tae Hun MIN ; Duk Shin JO ; Chun Young LEE ; Young Hee LIM ; Byung Jae LEE ; Dong Chul CHOI ; Joung Ho HAN

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2001;21(5):977-985.

Churg-Strauss syndrome is a rare subset of the group of systemic necrotizing vasculitis. Acute respiratory failure is an extremely rare presentation of Churg-Strauss syndrome. The authors report a case of Churg-Strauss syndrome presenting with acute respiratory failure due to diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage. A 28-year-old male suffering from not-well responding bronchial asthma developed erythematous maculopapulous skin lesion and progressive infiltrative pulmonary consolidation on chest X-ray but initially there was no eosinophilia in the peripheral blood. One week later, acute respiratory failure developed with peripheral eosinophilia. Chest X-ray showed bilateral multiple consolidations and patchy densities. The patient was supported on mechanical ventilator and we performed skin biopsy and bronchoscopic examination immediately. The lung biopsy specimens demonstrated capillaritis and prominent interstitial and alveolar eosinophil infiltrates. Grossly bloody bronchoalveolar lavage fluid showed predominant increase in eosinophilic increase and many hemosiderin laden macrophages. Therefore the patients was diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome presenting with pulmonary hemorrhage. Treatment with intravenous methylprednisolone produced symptomatic improvement and normalized peripheral eosinophilia. This case emphasizes that Churg-Strauss syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute respiratory failure, and early intervention or diagnostic approach is needed.
Adult ; Asthma ; Biopsy ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Churg-Strauss Syndrome* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Hemorrhage* ; Hemosiderin ; Humans ; Lung ; Macrophages ; Male ; Methylprednisolone ; Respiratory Insufficiency* ; Skin ; Thorax ; Vasculitis ; Ventilators, Mechanical

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Distribution of fungus spores in the air of outdoor and indoor environments from September to November 1999 in Seoul, Korea.

Cheol Hong KIM ; Jung Yun CHOI ; Myung Hyun SHON ; Kyung Eun LEE ; Kyu Earn KIM ; Ki Young LEE

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2001;21(5):970-976.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Fungi cause allergies and are difficult to avoid in daily life. People spend much of their time indoors, but distribution of fungi spores the indoor and outdoor invironment is not well known in this country. The aim of this study was to measure fungus spores indoor and outdoor environment simultaneously and to investigate any relationships in fungus spores between indoor and outdoor environments. METHOD: We collected samples from 198 households from September to November, 1999. Burkard Personal Volumetric Air Sampler was used to collect airborne fungus spores. RESULTS: Mean number of indoor spores was 603 sp/m2 and 1,214 sp/m2 for outdoors. Cladosporium was the most predominant fungus both indoors and outdoors, followed by Leptospheria spp., Massarina spp., Alternaria spp. in order from September( indoor 928 sp/m2, outdoor 2,123 sp/m2) to November( indoor 95 sp/m2, outdoor 344 sp/m2). There were significant correlations between number of spores, and temperature and wind velocity(p<0.05), but no significant correlations with humidity. CONCLUSION: Cladosporium spp. followed by Leptospheria, Massarina and Alternaria were the predominant fungi for both indoor and outdoor environments from September to November in Seoul.
Alternaria ; Cladosporium ; Family Characteristics ; Fungi* ; Humans ; Humidity ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea* ; Seoul* ; Spores* ; Wind

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Age-dependent changes of B cell and T cell-mediated immune responses in naive C3H/HeJ mice under regular mouse chow feeding conditions.

Se Jo OH ; Kyung Won LEE ; Gye Ree JEON ; Ki Sun LEE ; Soo Young LEE

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2001;21(5):958-969.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Murine system for studying allergic diseases has been popular in the fields of food allergy and development of their therapeutic strategies. However, there has been no information about the age-dependent changes of natural immune responses of naive C3H/HeJ mice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the age-dependent changes of B and T-cell mediated immunologic parameters in naive C3H/HeJ mice, which can provide information for experimental planning and analysis of research results. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Eight naive, female, 5-week-old C3H/HeJ mice were grown under the regular mouse chow feeding conditions for 6 weeks. Sera were obtained at week (w) 5, w6, w8 and w10 for measuring total and chow-specific IgE, IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies. Splenocyte proliferation (at w8 and w10) and cytokine production (at w6, w8 and w10) were evaluated with or without Con A stimulation with pooled splenocytes from two mice of each age group. Serum antibodies and cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-12, INF-gamma, TGF-beta1) were measured by ELISA. Using RT-PCR, IL-4 and INF-gamma mRNA expressions were measured in Peyer's patch and spleen tissue at w10. RESULTS: The levels of total IgE and IgG1 were increased by age while the level of IgG2a was decreased. Chow-specific IgE and IgG2a responses were neglectable through out the whole experimental period (20-30 ng/ml or less). Chow-specific IgG1 levels were measured in the significant concentrations (200-300 ng/ml) but there was no age-dependent change through out the experiment. Con A stimulated-splenocyte proliferation indexes were variable according to the culture-durations and ages of mice. The higher proliferation indexes were observed in the wells receiving thymidine pulse at 48-hour culture, especially in the mice at w10. Con A stimulated IL-4 production in the 72-hour splenocyte culture supernatant was significantly increased at w8, and w10 while INF-gamma production increased only at w10. The changes in the production of IL-5, IL-12 and TGF-beta did not provide significant information in the present study. The ratio of IL-4/IFN-gamma mRNA expression was higher in Peyer's patch than in the spleen. CONCLUSION: The changes of B-cell and T-cell mediated immunologic parameters were complex and variable according to the age in naive C3H/HeJ mice under regular chow feeding conditions. For that reason, the information from the present study needs to be considered in the course of planning or analysing research/data using murine systems.
Animals ; Antibodies ; B-Lymphocytes ; Cytokines ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunoglobulin G ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukin-5 ; Mice* ; RNA, Messenger ; Spleen ; T-Lymphocytes ; Thymidine ; Transforming Growth Factor beta

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Association of the proliferation of CD4(+)/Vbeta17(+) cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to staphylococcal enterotoxin B(SEB) in atopic dermatitis.

Soo Jong HONG ; Bong Seong KIM ; Jeong Yeon SHIM ; Jee Ho CHOI

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2001;21(5):948-957.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Atopic dermatitis(AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with a high incidence in early childhood. Staphylococcus aureus(SA) is found at high concentrations in over 90% of AD skin lesions compared with 5-37% of age-matched controls. SA isolates from AD subjects have a high prevalence(37-57%) of superantigen-producing strains. And staphylococcal enterotoxin B(SEB) has been shown to induce inflammatory reactions following application to intact skin of normal and atopic subjects. These findings suggest that SA toxin produced by SA may be linked with initiation or aggravation of AD, but the role of satphylococcal enterotoxin to the T cell in the pathogenesis of AD has not been determined clearly. This study was conducted to determine whether staphylococcal enterotoxin might have a role as a superantigen in the pathogenesis of AD. Materials and Method: We investigated the proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cell(PBMC) from 8 patients with AD and 10 age-matched normal controls. We also assessed T cell markers and T cell receptor(TCR) Vbeta chain expression by flow cytometry with and without SEB stimulation. RESULTS: PBMC from AD patients showed increased proliferation to SEB 100 pg/ml and 1000 pg/ml compared to controls. There were no differences of CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD8(+) cells after SEB stimulation between the two groups. And there were also no differences of TCR Vbeta2(+) and TCR Vbeta8(+) cells with and without SEB stimulation, but TCR Vbeta17(+) cells were increased after SEB stimulation not only in AD patients but also in controls compared to culture without SEB. The expressions of TCR Vbeta17 chain of CD3(+) and CD4(+) cells after SEB stimulation were increased in AD patients compared to controls. Furthermore, there was positive correlation between the enhanced PBMC proliferative responses to SEB and increased expressions of SEB reactive TCR Vbeta17(+)/CD4(+) cells in AD patients and controls. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that SEB is important in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis and also provide evidence that the increased use of certain TCR Vbeta families is of functional significance.
Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Enterotoxins* ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Incidence ; Skin ; Skin Diseases ; Staphylococcus

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Inhalation effect of 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane (HCFC-141b) on the respiratory system.

Cheol Woo KIM ; Hyeon Yeong KIM ; Yeon Soon AHN ; Soo Young CHOI ; Jung Won PARK ; Sung Bae LEE ; Dong Hwan SHIN ; Yong Mook LEE ; Chein Soo HONG

Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.2001;21(5):940-947.

BACKGROUND: 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane (HCFC-141b) has been known to be relatively safe except irritation of the skin and upper airway, and pulmonary disease directly associated with HCFC-141b exposure has not been reported yet. OBJECTIVE: We report a highly suspicious case of HCFC-141b-related occupational asthma, which was assessed by workplace challenge, but not confirmed by specific inhalation test. We also performed animal experiment to evaluate whether long-term exposure to HCFC-141b could cause inflammation of the airway and parenchymal lung tissue. METHOD: Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups. HCFC-141b exposure for each group was carried out under the condition of 6 hours a day, 5 days a week for 13 weeks by inhalation with different concentration of HCFC-141b; Group A-control: Group B-low concentration, 1500 ppm: Group C-moderate concentration, 3000 ppm: and Group D-high concentration, 6000 ppm. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and histopathological examination of lung tissue was undertaken after HCFC-141b exposure. RESULTS: HCFC-141b did not induce any abnormal change in the clinical and behavioral signs during and at the termination of the inhalation exposure. Compared with control rat, significantly abnormal findings in the microscopic examination of BAL and tissue preparations was not noted in HCFC-141b exposed rats. CONCLUSION: We report a suspicious case of occupational asthma due to HCFC-141b exposure. Animal experiment, however, revealed that HCFC-141b has no toxic or side effect on the respiratory system regardless of its concentration.
Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Asthma, Occupational ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Inflammation ; Inhalation Exposure ; Inhalation* ; Lung ; Lung Diseases ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Respiratory System* ; Skin

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