[Evaluation of allergen-specific IgE antibodies by a newly developed mast allergy system]

MAST, which stand for multiple antigen simultaneous test, uses enzyme-linked anti-human IgE and chemiluminogenic substate to determine IgE. This system is characterized by simultaneous analysis of multiple allergen items, up to 35, together with total IgE determination. We evaluated usefulness of this MAST system using 191 serum samples obtained from patients with bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis and/or atopic dermatitis. It was found that there were statistically significant correlations between IgE antibody quantification by MAST and RAST in 24 out of 35 allergen items, with correlation coefficients more than r = 0.60. These included Dermatophagoides farinae and pteronyssinus, Japanese cedar pollen, orchard grass, Alternaria, Candida as inhalant allergens; egg white, milk, soybeans, wheat and rice as food allergens. It was also evaluated how many allergen-specific IgE antibodies could be detected in one serum sample. More than six allergen-specific IgE antibodies were simultaneously detected in 33% of 191 cases, indicating the importance of multiple-allergen analysis. These results indicate the clinical usefulness of the MAST allergy system in detecting IgE antibodies in allergic subjects.