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The following is a summary of “Accurate determination of house dust mite sensitization in asthma and allergic rhinitis through cytometric detection of Der p 1 and Der p 2 binding on basophils (CytoBas),” published in the May 2024 issue of Allergy & Immunology by Hsin, et al.
House dust mites (HDM) are the most prevalent allergen trigger for allergic rhinitis and atopic asthma worldwide. For a study, researchers sought to design fluorescent allergen tetramers that directly stain specific IgE on basophils, facilitating the detection of particular allergen sensitization using the flow cytometric CytoBas assay.
Recombinant proteins of major HDM allergens, including Der f 1, Der p 1, and Der p 2, were biotinylated and conjugated with fluorochrome streptavidins to form tetramers. Blood samples from 64 patients with HDM-allergy and 26 non-HDM-sensitized controls were incubated with these allergen tetramers to evaluate basophil binding (CytoBas) and activation (BAT) through flow cytometry.
The tetramers effectively bound to and activated basophils from patients who are allergic but not from non-sensitized controls. The CytoBas assay with Der p 1 demonstrated sensitivity and specificity of 92% and 100%, respectively, comparable to BAT, which showed 91% and 100% for the same parameters. For Der p 2, CytoBas exhibited sensitivity and specificity of 95% and 96%, respectively, similar to BAT’s 95% and 87%. Combining Der p 1 and Der p 2 in CytoBas achieved 100% sensitivity and 96% specificity for HDM allergy.
The CytoBas assay demonstrated diagnostic accuracy for group 1 and group 2 HDM allergens that match BAT. It offered additional advantages, including testing multiple allergen components in a single tube and eliminating the need for in vitro basophil activation. The results support using a single, multiplex CytoBas assay for precise and component-resolved diagnosis of aeroallergen sensitization in patients with allergic asthma and rhinitis.
Reference: jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(24)00156-8/fulltext
