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Study on allergenicity of Thuja orientalis pollen grains in rat

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Abstract

Cupressaceae pollen allergy is an important cause of pollen allergy throughout the world. Prevalence of allergy to Cupressaceae pollen has increased significantly during the winter over the past 3 decades because of extensive planting of cypress trees for different purposes. Thuja orientalis (Cupressaceae) is a naturally grown plant in Iran and is widely cultivated as a common ornamental plant in this country and other ones. Allergenicity of its pollen has been established, but to this day no allergenic component has been detected. The aim of this research is to study allergenicity and evaluate the immunoglobulin E reactivity to T. orientalis pollen extracts. Pollen grains were directly collected from mature male cones of trees. Pollen proteins were extracted and were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Total protein content of pollen extracts was measured by Bradford assay. Immunoblotting using the serum of sensitized rats showed a single immunogenic band at about 44KD in pollen extracts. Result of this research proved that pollen grains of T. orientalis are allergenic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman, Iran

    Azadeh Khajooie, Farkhondeh Rezanejad, Saeed Esmaeili-Mahani & Arastoo Badoei-Dalfard

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  1. Azadeh Khajooie
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  2. Farkhondeh Rezanejad
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  3. Saeed Esmaeili-Mahani
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  4. Arastoo Badoei-Dalfard
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Correspondence to Azadeh Khajooie.

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Khajooie, A., Rezanejad, F., Esmaeili-Mahani, S. et al. Study on allergenicity of Thuja orientalis pollen grains in rat. Aerobiologia 29, 413–417 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-013-9293-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-013-9293-3

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