IgE antibodies to four mite allergens in atopics and non-atopics living in Barbados - abstract

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)