[New aero-allergens. Interaction between allergens and the environment]

There is a qualitative as well as a quantitative change in allergen exposure. From a qualitative viewpoint, the relevance of some allergens (domestic allergens i.e. cockroaches, outdoor allergens i.e. plane tree, chestnut and ash tree pollens) has been established. The role of some other allergens has been, strictly speaking, discovered: latex from Hevea and ficus, trichophyton mold, some occupational allergens and very recently transgenic allergens. From a quantitative viewpoint, the concentration and/or distribution of some allergens has increased. Plantation of numerous trees or fortuitous introduction of weeds has led to an increased specific sensitization. In like manner, introduction of new foods or food processing procedures has created new food allergens and allergy. Besides, the distribution of some well-known aero-allergens is better known since discovery of ELISA--technology allowing measurements of minute amounts of these allergens. A burning issue today is to know whether irritant factors could modify allergens. Few data, sometimes contradictory, are available in the field of interaction between air pollutants and allergens.