Lack of allergenic cross-reactivity between storage mites and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus

The allergenic cross-reactivity between storage mites (Lepidoglyphus destructor, Glycyphagus domesticus, Tyrophagus putrescentiae and Acarus siro) and the house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus was studied with the radio-allergo-sorbent test (RAST) and the RAST inhibition technique. RAST-positive sera were obtained from fifty-three farmers who were positive to at least one of the four storage mites. Sera from twelve of these farmers, eight of whom were also positive to D. pteronyssinus, were investigated with the RAST inhibition technique. No significant correlations were found between IgE-antibody levels to any single storage mite and D. pteronyssinus. There was no correlation between the RAST results to A. siro and G. domesticus, whereas a significant correlation was found between L. destructor, G. domesticus and T. putrescentiae. The RAST inhibition studies confirmed the greater allergenic similarity between L. destructor, G. domesticus and T. putrescentiae than between A. siro and the other three storage mites. The results of our studies support the hypothesis that each of the storage mites and D. pteronyssinus possess their own unique allergen or allergens. Furthermore, L. destructor, G. domesticus and T. putrescentiae seem to be allergenically more closely related to each other than to A. siro.