Marker allergens in Hymenoptera venom al lergy — Characteristics and potential use in precision medicine

AbstractBackgroundA  comprehensive diagnostic work-up is essential to ensure adequate patient management for the potentially life-threatening condition of Hymenoptera venom allergy (HVA). This includes an unambiguous identification of the allergy-relevant venom as prerequisite for successful venom-specific immunothera py (VIT). If the clinical history does not allow the identification of the culprit insect, diagnosis is often hampered by positive test results to various venoms. Modern component-resolved diagnostics (CRD) applying marker allergens of Hymenoptera venoms has created new opportunities which facilitat e therapeutic decisions and may allow personalized risk stratification for individual patients.MethodsComprehensive literature search and critical analysis of recently published studies on Hymenoptera venom allergens and CRD.Results and discussionChanging the research focus from whole venom extracts to individual allergenic molecules led to the development of CRD in HVA. The currently available CRD is a  valuable tool to resolve cross-reactivity and primary sensitization, particularly in honeybee and vespid venom allergy. Hence, CRD has simplified therapeutic decisions in case of multiple positive test results, especially in patients who were not able to identify the culprit insect or in cases of discrepancies between clinical history and classical diagnostic results. Moreover, there is first evidence that sensitization to particular allergens might serve as biomar...
Source: Allergo Journal International - Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research