Package "Forecast of ASIT efficiency: Cereal herbs" (timothy grass rPhl p 1, rPhl p 5b, g213; timothy grass rPhl p 7, rPhl p 12, g214)

The donations included in the Package:

• Timothy grass rPhl p 1, rPhl p 5b IgE, g213
• Timothy grass rPhl p 7, rPhl p 12 IgE, g214

The package "Prognosis of the effectiveness of ASIT: Cereal herbs" is a comprehensive analysis that allows you to predict whether allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) will be effective for a patient with an allergy to grass pollen. Allergy component diagnostics is based on the detection of sensitization to allergens at the molecular level using natural highly purified and recombinant allergen molecules, i.e., their individual allergy components.

There are 3 main advantages of doing this research:

• Allergocomponent diagnostics makes it possible to differentiate true sensitization from sensitization due to cross-reactivity. These data will help to identify the sources of allergies: a single one, several closely related ones, or many different ones.
• Molecular allergodiagnostics will eliminate the need for provocative tests and allow you to give clearer recommendations regarding the elimination of contact with allergens.
• Molecular allergodiagnostics is necessary in the selection of ASIT, in persons with polyvalent (multiple) sensitization, as it is the most accurate way to determine the most important allergen for which therapy will be performed.

The allergenic substance contains not one but several protein components that can act as allergens:

• Major allergen components are the main allergenic molecules, antibodies to which are found in more than half – 50% of patients in the population responding to this source. They are resistant to heat and more immunogenic. They are large in size and are contained in this allergen in larger quantities.
• Minor are secondary, smaller in size, and less immunogenic allergenic molecules that are usually contained in smaller amounts in the allergen but are present in many different allergens, sometimes not closely related, providing cross-allergy. That is, allergens with a prevalence of more than 50% are called major allergens and those with less than 10% prevalence are called minor allergens.

The culprits of allergies include herbs and trees. One of the representatives of herbs is timothy grass.

Timothy grass (Latin name: Phleum pratense) refers to herbs of the cereal family, widely distributed throughout the world. Timothy is a winter-hardy plant and begins to bloom in early spring. Pollen of Timothy's grass may be the cause of allergic diseases. Symptoms of allergic reactions to timothy pollen manifest themselves in the form of redness and burning of the mucous membrane of the eyes, watery eyes, blepharoedema, nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and bronchospasm.

To determine sensitization to timothy grass as a complex allergen, the following are investigated:

• Phl p 1 and Phl p 5b are the main "major" allergens,
• Phl p 7 and Phl p 12 are minor "secondary" ones.

Phl p 1 is a glycosylated protein, the main ("major") allergen of timothy, specific IgE antibodies to which are detected in 95% of patients with allergies to pollen of various types of meadow grasses.

Phl p 5b is the main and one of the most reactive allergens of timothy, which provokes symptoms of allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma in sensitized patients. IgE antibodies to this allergen are detected in 65-90% of people with allergies to meadow grass pollen.

Phl p 7 is a calcium-binding protein, a minor allergen of timothy pollen. It is detected in 10-15% of patients sensitized to meadow grass pollen and causes cross-reactivity with many plants (birch, alder, olive, weeds, and others).

Phl p 12 is a protein from the profilin group, a minor allergen of timothy. Antibodies of the IgE class are detected in 15-30% of patients with allergies to meadow grass pollen. Timothy profilin proteins have a similar structure to the profilins of many plant species, food products of plant origin, and latex.

True allergy to timothy pollen is confirmed by the presence in the blood of specific IgE antibodies to the main allergen components Phl p 1 and Phl p 5b. The presence of reagin antibodies only to secondary ("minor") allergen components (Phl p 7, Phl p 12) indicates cross-sensitization with other plant allergens.