Reliable mite-specific microarray for testing IgE antibodies in nasal secretions

Methods to measure allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) at nasal level in patients with allergic rhinitis are currently of great interest for many reasons, such as the evidence for local production of IgE in the nasal mucosa. Nasal secretions are easily collected with various non-invasive procedures and suitable for IgE measurements. Nevertheless, IgE “classic” assays, based on immunoenzymatic methods and allergen extracts, require large volumes and are inefficient in detecting the low amounts of IgE in NasSec. In this study, IgE antibodies to 15 allergen molecules of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae were tested with an allergen microarray in nasal secretions of 30 mite sensitized, allergic rhinitis patients and 29 healthy, not-sensitized controls. Nasal IgE to major allergen molecules (nDer p 1, nDer f 1, rDer p 2, rDer f 2, rDer p 23) identified the mite-allergic patients with 90% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Therefore, testing nasal IgE to allergen molecules by a microarray approach may play a role in the diagnostic work-up of patients with allergic rhinitis.