Cross-reaction

Author:Prof. Dr. med. Peter Altmeyer

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Last updated on: 29.10.2020

Synonym(s)

Cross Allergy

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DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.

Allergological term, which plays an important clinical role especially in food allergies. Here, an allergen A induces a sensitization, due to which allergen B can trigger an allergic reaction. A cross-reaction is based on a similarity of molecular structures of different allergens (example: birch - apple).

EtiologyThis section has been translated automatically.

A cross-reaction is caused by an identical or related allergen. This is not surprising in the case of taxonomically related allergen sources (e.g. cereals/grasses; olive/lilac or peach/cherry/plum/apricot). It was shown that for cross-reactivity a sequence identity of > 50% is usually necessary (linear epitopes). Proteins with this degree of similarity have many identical sites on their surface that can act as potential epitopes for cross-reactive antibodies. Cross-reactions are also possible if the 3D structure is similar (conformation, conformational epitope).

Clinically surprising are cross-reactions in taxonomically unrelated structures ( tropomyosin and shrimp/house dust mite mite shellfish syndrome or alpha-livetin and bird-egg synd rome as well as cat-pork syndrome with sensitization to cat serum albumin and cross-reactivity to serum albumin in pork, alpha galactose as ubiquitous sugar in glycoproteins and glycolipids of all mammals but not in humans and various other mammals). monkeys).

LiteratureThis section has been translated automatically.

  1. Hausen BM, Vieluf K (1997) Allergy plants, plant allergens. Ecomed Publishing House Landsberg/Munich
  2. Jäger L, Wüthrich B (1998) Food allergies and intolerances. Gustav Fischer, Ulm Stuttgart Jena Lübeck 89-90
  3. Kutting B et al (2001) House dust mite-crustaceans-molluscs syndrome. A rare variant of food allergy in primary sensitization to inhaled allergens. dermatologist 52: 708-711
  4. Kleine-Tebbe J et al (2003) Cross-reactive allergen clusters in pollen-associated food allergy. dermatologist 54: 130-137
  5. Weber RW (2003) Patterns of pollen cross-allergenicity. J Allergy Clin Immunol 112: 229-239

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Last updated on: 29.10.2020