Non-allergenic Pollen-derived Low Molecular Compounds Enhance Immune Response

Allergens from pollen are high molecular proteins or glycoproteins. These comparatively large molecules have been well characterized in recent years.

Photo: IEM/HMGU

A team led by Dr Stefanie Gilles-Stein, Dr Isabelle Beck, and Professor Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann of the Chair and Institute of Environmental Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Zentrum München, has now shown that low molecular weight pollen-derived compounds are also clinically relevant *.

For the tests, allergens from birch and grass pollen were used. The pollen allergens were either prepared in a saline solution or together with a low molecular weight fraction of the pollen extract. During the study, skin-prick tests and nasal allergen challenges were performed in healthy and allergic test persons.

“Skin prick testing elicited a stronger allergic immune response such as wheals or erythema when the low molecular pollen fraction was included,” explains Professor Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann. In the nasal allergen challenges, the low molecular weight pollen compounds increased the local release of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and immunoglobulin E (IgE). Increased nasal secretion production was found in the study group that was exposed to the mixture containing the low molecular pollen fraction. The researchers also observed an increase in nasal secretion, eye itching, and sneezing attacks as well as in other symptoms. Healthy test persons of the study did not respond measurably to the pollen compounds – neither during the skin-prick tests nor during the nasal provocations.

Traidl-Hoffmann further elucidates: “Our pilot study contributes to future clinical trials.” In these studies, the effect of low molecular weight, non-allergenic substances from pollen will be investigated more thoroughly. Non-allergenic substances could be of clinical significance for the diagnosis of allergies and to the allergen-specific immunotherapy (hyposensitization). For this kind of therapy, pollen extracts are used at present. Whether and in what quantities these currently used extracts contain proinflammatory substances has hitherto not been adequately studied. “The study results could change the diagnosis of allergies and allergen-specific immunotherapy,” concludes Traidl-Hoffmann.

Further Information

Publication

Gilles-Stein S. et al. (2016): Pollen derived low molecular compounds enhance the human allergen specific immune response in vivo. Clin Exp Allergy. doi:10.1111/cea.12739

The Helmholtz Zentrum München, the German Research Center for Environmental Health, pursues the goal of developing personalized medical approaches for the prevention and therapy of major common diseases such as diabetes and lung diseases. To achieve this, it investigates the interaction of genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle. The Helmholtz Zentrum München is headquartered in Neuherberg in the north of Munich and has about 2,300 staff members. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association, a community of 18 scientific-technical and medical-biological research centers with a total of about 37,000 staff members. 

The Institute of Environmental Medicine (IEM) conducts translational research on environment-human interactions with the main focus on allergic diseases. The objective is to prevent chronic environmental diseases and to ensure a sustainable patient treatment. The Chair and Institute of Environmental Medicine, Technical University Munich and Helmholtz Zentrum München, are part of the University Center for Health Sciences at the Klinikum Augsburg, UNIKA-T, a research consortium of the University of Augsburg, Technical University of Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and Klinikum Augsburg. In addition, there is a close collaboration with the KORA study center (Cooperative Health Research in the Augsburg Region) and the National Cohort (NAKO) – both Helmholtz Zentrum München. The IEM also collaborates closely with the Center for Allergy and Environment (ZAUM) and neighboring institutes such as the IAF at Helmholtz Zentrum München.

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Non-allergenic Pollen-derived Low Molecular Compounds Enhance Immune Response