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Published on: October 25, 2018
Peanut diversity and specific activity are the dominant IgE characteristics for effector cell activation in children
Oliver Hemmings1, Umar Niazi2, Matthew Kwok1
1Department of Women and Children's Health (Pediatric Allergy), School of Life Course Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma, London, United Kingdom.
Background:
IgE mediates allergic reactions to peanut; however, peanut-specific IgE (sIgE) levels do not always equate to clinical peanut allergy. Qualitative differences between sIgE of peanut-sensitized but tolerant (PS) and peanut-allergic (PA) individuals may be important.
Objective:
We sought to assess the influence of IgE characteristics on effector cell activation in peanut allergy.
Methods:
A cohort of 100 children was studied. The levels of IgE to peanut and peanut components were measured. Specific activity (SA) was estimated as the ratio of allergen-sIgE to total IgE. Avidity was measured by ImmunoCAP with sodium thiocyanate. IgE diversity was calculated on the basis of ImmunoCAP-Immuno Solid-phase Allergen Chip assays for 112 allergens or for 6 peanut allergens. Whole-blood basophils and mast cell line Laboratory of Allergic Diseases 2 sensitized with patients' plasma were stimulated with peanut or controls and assessed by flow cytometry.
Results:
SA to peanut (P < .001), Ara h 1 (P = .004), Ara h 2 (P < .001), Ara h 3 (P = .02), and Ara h 6 (P < .001) and the avidity of peanut-sIgE (P < .001) were higher in PA than in PS individuals. Diversity for peanut allergens was greater in PA individuals (P < .001). All IgE characteristics were correlated with basophil and mast cell activation. Peanut SA (R = 0.447) and peanut diversity (R = 0.440) had the highest standardized β-coefficients in combined multivariable regression models (0.447 and 0.440, respectively).
Conclusions:
IgE specificity, SA, avidity, and peanut diversity were greater in PA than in PS individuals. IgE peanut SA and peanut diversity had the greatest influence on effector cell activation and could be used clinically.
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