The Quantification of IgG Specific to α-Gal Could Be Used as a Risk Marker for Suffering Mammalian Meat Allergy
Alejandro Joral,
Nahikari Azketa,
Patricia Sanchez,
Ainara Vélez-del-Burgo,
María-Ascensión Aranzabal-Soto,
Susana Lizarza,
Jorge Martínez,
Idoia Postigo
Affiliations
Alejandro Joral
Servicio de Alergología, Hospital Universitario Donostia, 20014 San Sebastián, Spain
Nahikari Azketa
Parasitology and Allergy Research Group, Lascaray Research Institute, Department of Immunology, Microbiology, and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Basque Country, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
Patricia Sanchez
Parasitology and Allergy Research Group, Lascaray Research Institute, Department of Immunology, Microbiology, and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Basque Country, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
Ainara Vélez-del-Burgo
Parasitology and Allergy Research Group, Lascaray Research Institute, Department of Immunology, Microbiology, and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Basque Country, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
María-Ascensión Aranzabal-Soto
OSI Goierri Alto Urola, 20700 Zumárraga, Spain
Susana Lizarza
Servicio de Alergología, Hospital Universitario Donostia, 20014 San Sebastián, Spain
Jorge Martínez
Parasitology and Allergy Research Group, Lascaray Research Institute, Department of Immunology, Microbiology, and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Basque Country, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
Idoia Postigo
Parasitology and Allergy Research Group, Lascaray Research Institute, Department of Immunology, Microbiology, and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Basque Country, 01006 Vitoria, Spain
The alpha-Gal Syndrome is a delayed meat allergy characterized by the presence of sIgE against α-Gal epitope. It is known that the α-Gal present in tick saliva induces the sensitization to this epitope ending in the production of sIgG and sIgE to α-Gal. It could be considered that the more times a person is bitten by tick species, the higher the probability of making the switch from sIgG to sIgE to α-Gal and developing allergy, but it is no clear when the switch occurs. To determine the likelihood that a subject bitten by ticks but without AGS be at risk of developing this allergy, we quantified the levels of sIgG to α-Gal by an automated system (ImmunoCap). To stablish a cut-off value for sIgG to α-Gal, a receiving operating curve (ROC) was constructed. The statistical analysis demonstrated that the risk of suffering AGS in individuals bitten by ticks was 35% when the sIgG to α-Gal was greater than or equal to 40 µg/mL. Our data indicate that the sIgG values against α-Gal could be used as a prognostic marker for developing mammalian meat allergy.
