Drivers of the release of the allergens Bet v 1 and Phl p 5 from birch and grass pollen

José M Maya-Manzano; Jose Oteros; Jesús Rojo; Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann; Carsten Schmidt-Weber; Jeroen Buters

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.113987

Drivers of the release of the allergens Bet v 1 and Phl p 5 from birch and grass pollen

Environ Res. 2022 Nov;214(Pt 3):113987. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113987. Epub 2022 Aug 10.

Authors

José M Maya-Manzano¹, Jose Oteros², Jesús Rojo³, Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann⁴, Carsten Schmidt-Weber¹, Jeroen Buters¹

Affiliations

¹ Center of Allergy & Environment (ZAUM), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Technical University and Helmholtz Center Munich, Munich, Germany.
² Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence CeiA3, Andalusian Inter-University Institute for Earth System IISTA, University of Cordoba, Spain. Electronic address: jose.oteros@uco.es.
³ Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy and Botany, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain.
⁴ Department of Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany; Institute of Environmental Medicine, Helmholtz Center Munich - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Augsburg, Germany; Christine Kühne Center for Allergy Research and Education, Davos, Switzerland.

PMID: 35961547
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113987

Abstract

The drivers affecting the Pollen Allergen Potency (PAP, amount of allergen released per pollen) are sparsely known. Betula and Poaceae airborne pollen are the two main allergenic pollen in the World. Airborne pollen and their allergens Bet v 1 and Phl p 5 were simultaneously measured from 2010 to 2015 in Davos (Switzerland) and Munich (Germany) by using volumetric traps and ChemVol cascade impactors. Daily variations in PAP were analysed in PM_>10 and PM_2.5-10 air fractions and generalized additive models were created to explain which factors determine PAP, including meteorological parameters and inorganic pollutants. 87.1 ± 13.9% of Bet v 1 and 88.8 ± 15.5% of Phl p 5 was detected in the fraction PM_>10 where most pollen grains were collected. Significantly higher PAP for grasses (3.5 ± 1.9 pg Phl p 5/pollen grain) were observed in Munich than in Davos (2.4 ± 1.5 pg/pollen grain, p < 0.001), but not for Betula (2.5 ± 1.6 pg Bet v 1/pollen grain in Munich and 2.3 ± 1.7 in Davos, N.S.). PAP varied between days, years and location, and increased along the pollen season for Poaceae, but remaining constant for Betula. Free allergens (allergens observed in the fraction with limited pollen, PM_{2.5- 10}) were recorded mostly at the beginning or at the end of the pollen season, being linked to higher humidity and rainy days. Also, PAP was higher when the airborne pollen concentrations increased rapidly after one day of low/moderate levels. Our findings show that pollen exposure explains allergen exposure only to a limited extend, and that day in the season, geographic location and some weather conditions need to be considered also to explain symptoms of allergic individuals.

Keywords: Allergenicity drivers; Allergens; Bet v 1; Phl p 5; Pollen allergen potency; Pollutants.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Allergens* / analysis
Betula
Humans
Hypersensitivity*
Poaceae
Pollen

Substances

Allergens