Pollen/Fruit Syndrome: Clinical Relevance of the Cypress Pollen Allergenic Gibberellin-Regulated Protein

Hélène Sénéchal; Sanaz Keykhosravi; Rémy Couderc; Marie Ange Selva; Youcef Shahali; Tomoyasu Aizawa; Jean Marc Busnel; Rihane Arif; Inna Mercier; Nhan Pham-Thi; Denis André Charpin; Pascal Poncet

doi:10.4168/aair.2019.11.1.143

Pollen/Fruit Syndrome: Clinical Relevance of the Cypress Pollen Allergenic Gibberellin-Regulated Protein

Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2019 Jan;11(1):143-151. doi: 10.4168/aair.2019.11.1.143.

Authors

Hélène Sénéchal¹, Sanaz Keykhosravi^{1

2}, Rémy Couderc³, Marie Ange Selva³, Youcef Shahali⁴, Tomoyasu Aizawa⁵, Jean Marc Busnel⁶, Rihane Arif⁶, Inna Mercier⁷, Nhan Pham-Thi⁷, Denis André Charpin⁸, Pascal Poncet^{1

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry, Armand Trousseau Children Hospital, APHP, A&E Research Team, Paris, France.
² Paris-Sud Analytical Chemistry Group, Paris-Sud University, Orsay, France.
³ Department of Biochemistry, Armand Trousseau Children Hospital, APHP, Paris, France.
⁴ Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran.
⁵ Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Protein Science Laboratory, Hokkaïdo University, Sapporo, Japan.
⁶ Beckman Coulter, Life Sciences Research, Marseille, France.
⁷ Department of Allergology, Pasteur Institute Medical Center, Paris, France.
⁸ Department of Pneumonology and Allergy, La Timone Hospital, APHM, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
⁹ Pasteur Institute, Center of Resources and Technological Research, Paris, France. pascal.poncet@pasteur.fr.

Abstract

A pollen/food-associated syndrome (PFAS) has been described between peach and cypress pollen. Cross-reactive allergens were characterized which belong to the Gibberellin-regulated protein (GRP) family, BP14 in cypress pollen and Pru p 7 in peach. GRP are small cationic protein with anti-microbial properties. A patient suffering from a peach/cypress syndrome was explored clinically and biologically using 2 types of immunoglobulin E (IgE) multiarray microchip, immunoblots and a basophil activation test to assess the clinical relevance of various extracts and purified allergens from fruits or cypress pollen. In addition to PR10 sensitization, the patient showed specific IgE to Pru p 7, BP14 and allergen from pomegranate. These last 3 allergens and allergenic sources are able to induce ex vivo basophil activation characterized by the monitoring of the expression of CD63 and CD203c, both cell surface markers correlated with a basophil mediator release. Up to 100% of cells expressed CD203c at 50 ng/mL of BP14 protein. In contrast, snakin-1, a GRP from potato sharing 82% sequence identity with Pru p 7 did not activate patient's basophils. These results strongly suggest that, like Pru p 7, BP14 is a clinically relevant allergenic GRP from pollen. Allergen members of this newly described protein family are good candidates for PFAS where no cross-reactive allergens have been characterized.

Keywords: Cypress; allergen; basophil; peach; pollen; pomegranate.