Natural immunity to dust mites in adults with XXXX . I. Mite-specific serum IgG and IgE.

@entity748 @entity1 @entity102 @entity1030
Natural immunity to dust mite (Dermatophagoides farinae) antigen was assessed in a population of 63 adults with a clinical diagnosis of @entity102 . Immunity was determined by measuring immediate hypersensitivity to an intracutaneous injection of dust mite antigen, mite-specific serum IgG concentrations using a double antibody ELISA, and mite-specific serum IgE concentrations by RAST. Using these tests, 68% of the @entity748 @entity1 exhibited a positive skin test; 38% had elevated concentrations of mite-specific IgE, and 63% had elevated concentrations of mite-specific IgG. In contrast, when analyzed individually, these tests were positive in only 10 to 11% of normal subjects or @entity1 with @entity1030 . Only 10% of asthmatics had elevated serum concentrations of mite-specific antibodies of the IgG4 subclass. The @entity748 @entity1 could be subdivided into 4 groups based on their immunologic reactivity to dust mites; 24% of the @entity1 had elevated concentrations of mite-specific IgG in the absence of allergic reactivity to mites (skin test). A second subgroup (27%) exhibited allergic reactivity in the absence of elevated concentrations of mite-specific serum IgG. A third subgroup (41%) consisted of @entity1 who exhibited both allergic reactivity and elevated IgG concentrations. The smallest subgroup (8%) consisted of @entity1 with no measurable immunity to mites. In total, 94% of the @entity748 group exhibited a positive immune response to at least one of the dust-mite-specific tests, whereas only 26% of the normal subjects could be considered to be immune using the criteria of a positive reaction in at least 1 of the 3 tests.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
