ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Humoral response to Epstein-Barr viral infection in patients with allergies

Svirshchevskaya EV1, Simonova MA1, Matushevskaya EV2, Fattakhova GV1, Khlgatian SV3, Ryazantsev DYu1, Chudakov DB1, Zavriev SK1
About authors

1 Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Moscow, Russia

2 Institute of Continuing Vocational Education, Federal Medical Biological Agency, Moscow, Russia

3 Mechnikov Research Institute of Vaccines and Sera, Moscow, Russia

Correspondence should be addressed: Elena V. Svirshchevskaya
Miklouho-Maclay 16/10, Moscow, 117997; ur.hcbi.liam@rivse

About paper

Author contribution: Svirshchevskaya EV measured IgE titers against allergens in the sera of allergic individuals and healthy donors, processed the obtained data and participated in the writing of this article; Khlgatian SV selected sera samples for the study and conducted RIDA assays; Fattakhova GV and Chudakov DB measured IgE titers against allergens in the sera of patients with allergies and healthy donors; Matushevskaya EV collected sera samples from patients with allergies, participated in the discussion of the study results and in the writing of this article; Simonova MA and Ryazantsev DYu performed iPCR; Ryazantsev DYu expressed recombinant proteins of EBV, A. alternata and D. farinaе; Chudakov DB synthesized, purified and characterized the sufficient amount of recombinant proteins for the study; Zavriev SK optimized PCR and participated in the discussion of the study results.

Received: 2018-09-12 Accepted: 2019-02-15 Published online: 2019-03-01
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Type I hypersensitivity is mediated by the production of IgE antibodies in response to normally harmless substances. Debate still continues about the mechanisms underlying allergic reactions. Reduced barrier tissue function can be one of the risk factors for allergies. The aim of the present work was to compare the humoral immune response to Epstein-Barr virus in patients allergic to the A. alternata fungus or D. farinae house dust mites and healthy donors. It is known that up to 90% of the world population are infected with EBV. This infection occurs at early age when a child develops allergy. The antibodies were analyzed using immuno-PCR and the recombinant EBV protein rEBNA. We were able to demonstrate that infection occurs at early age in both allergic patients and healthy donors. The proportion of EBP-seropositive individuals was comparable between the groups (75% and 74%). The proportion of patients with high IgG1 titers among patients with allergies was lower (7%) than in healthy donors (18%), suggesting a lower viral load. In patients with allergies (but not in healthy donors) IgG1 titers declined as children grew older (р = 0.037). Besides, IgA1 titers were increased in patients with allergies in comparison with healthy donors, but differed between patients allergic to A. alternata and house dust mites. In allergic individuals, production of IgM against EBV was triggered earlier than in healthy donors. We conclude that IgM production and the IgA1-mediated humoral response occur earlier in patients with allergies, causing a decline in IgG1 titers over time.

Keywords: allergy, house dust mites, A. alternata, recombinant allergens, Epstein–Barr virus, immuno-PCR

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