ABSTRACT
The prevalence of specific IgE (RAST) to Blomia tropicalis (Bt) was evaluated for 64 individuals from four families residing in Barbados, with self-reported atopic asthma (AA) and/or self-reported allergic rhinitis (AR) or individuals with no reported atopic disease (NA). The presence of specific IgE antibodies that reacted with components of Chortoglyphus arcuatus (Ca), Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp) and Euroglyphus maynei (Em) was also evaluated; components from Ca, Dp and Em were separated by SDS-PAGE, transferred to nitrocellulose membranes and screened with sera from the 22 AAs, 17 ARs and 25 NAs. Total serum IgE was significantly higher in individuals with self-reported AA (logIgE = 977 ng/ml) than in individuals reporting no AA (logIgE = 323 ng/ml). There was a significant difference between the number of AAs who were Bt-positive according to RAST (68 percent) and the number of individuals without AA(p=0.002). IgE antibodies to Ch and Em were significantly higher in individuals with AA than in those without AA (p = 0.001 and p = 0.005, respectively), and there was a weak correlation between IgE antibodies to Dp and self-reported AA (p=0.05). A significant pattern of conversion of response to certain bands within families was observed (AU)
Subject(s)
Mites , Asthma , Antibodies, Anti-IdiotypicABSTRACT
The prevalence of specific IgE (RAST) to tropical house dust mite Blomia tropicalis (Bt) was studied in 126 related individuals with self-reported atopic asthma (AA) and/or self-reported allergic rhinitis (AR) and individuals with no reported atopic disease. RAST results were considered positive when a serum bound > 5 percent of the total counts (percent TCB) added; 17 (65.4 percent) AA were positive to Bt, 7 (29.2 percent) AR without AA were positive to Bt, and 16 (21.9 percent) individuals reporting no AA or AR were positive to Bt. Total serum IgE was significantly higher in individuals with self-reported AA (750 ng/ml) than in individuals reporting no AA (282 ng/ml; Student's t test, p = 0.02). There was no association between total serum IgE and self-reported AR. Additionally, total IgE was weakly correlated with RAST (Bt) for all individuals (r=0.349, p=0.001). Subjects with self-reported AA had a significantly higher mean percentage TCB (19 + 17) than individuals without self-reported AA (10 + 14; Student's test, p<0.05). This study suggests that sensitivity to Bt is common in individuals with atopic asthma living in Barbados (AU)