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Updated: Jan 25, 2026
A Component-resolved Diagnostic Approach for a Study on Grass Pollen Allergens in Chinese Southerners with Allergic Rhinitis and/or Asthma
Published on: June 4, 2017
Allergen component testing - a new era in diagnostics of patients with pollen allergy
Svitlana Zubchenko1, Olena Sharikadze2, Stepan Maruniak2
1Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine.
Insights
Component testing for pollen allergy provides a more accurate diagnosis than traditional skin prick tests. This molecular diagnostics approach identifies genuine allergen sensitivities, leading to more effective allergen-specific immunotherapy.
Area of Science:
- Allergy and Immunology
- Molecular Diagnostics
- Immunotherapy
Background:
- Pollen allergy (hay fever) affects 5-34% of the population in developed countries, predominantly young working adults.
- Effective treatment relies on accurate identification of allergen triggers.
- Current diagnostic methods may not always pinpoint the primary cause of allergic reactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of component testing in guiding allergen immunotherapy decisions for pollen allergy patients.
- To compare diagnostic accuracy between skin prick tests and molecular diagnostics.
Main Methods:
- 126 patients with allergic rhinitis/conjunctivitis underwent skin prick tests and molecular diagnostics (ImmunoCap) for specific IgE.
- Blood serum was analyzed for specific allergen components.
- Patients were assessed for sensitization to grass, weed, Artemisia, and ambrosia pollen.
Main Results:
- Skin prick tests suggested 50% of patients were suitable for immunotherapy with "Mixture of Weeds" and "Mixture of Grass" extracts.
- Molecular diagnostics revealed this combination was unsuitable for all patients.
- Genuine sensitization was identified in 20% to grass pollen and 30% to Artemisia/ambrosia pollen.
Conclusions:
- Molecular diagnostics provide a more precise determination of allergen sensitization compared to skin prick tests.
- Component testing identifies genuine allergenic proteins, enabling targeted etiotropic allergen-specific immunotherapy.
- Accurate component determination leads to significantly different and more effective treatment strategies for pollen allergy.
Objective:
Introduction: Pollen allergy, also called hay fever or pollinosis, is referred to the most widespread allergic diseases. According to different sources, from 5 to 34% of the population in developed countries are likely to suffer from this condition. Moreover, the majority of patients are young people of working age The aim: To demonstrate a practical decision of the choice of effective treatment tactics based on component testing in patients with pollen allergy.
Patients And Methods:
Materials and methods: 126 рatients with allergic rhinitis / conjunctivitis were randomly selected according to their primary visit during the first week in August of the current year. Among them, 53 (42.0%) female and 73 (58.0%) male, aged 22-47 years. General laboratory and instrumental investigations, skin prick test with allergen extracts (Diater, Spain), measurement of total serum and specific IgE by immunoenzymatic assay method using test system "Euroimmun" were performed. Immunofluorescent methodImmunoCap (Thermo Scientific, Uppsala, Swiss) was used to detect specific components of allergens. The material of investigation was blood serum.
Results:
Results: According to the results of skin prick-test, 50% of patients could receive allergen immunotherapy with two different extracts of allergens "Mixture of Weeds" and "Mixture of Grass". On molecular investigations, it was detected that this combination was not suitable for any patient (20% of individuals had genuine sensitization to allergens of grass pollen, including a marker of cross-reactive molecules, 30% of individuals were sensitized with genuine allergens of Artemisia and/or ambrosia).
Conclusion:
Conclusions: Based on skin prick-test and molecular diagnostics, the doctor makes a completely different decision on the choice of extracts for allergen immunotherapy conduction. Component determination of a sensitized profile and high sensitivity of this method enables to reveal a genuine protein, which is the primary cause of allergy occurrence and administer etiotropic allergen-specific immunotherapy with the allergen, to which sensitization was detected.
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