Guanine Dosage in House Dust Samples and Quantification of Mite Allergens

Abstract

Mites represent the most important aeroallergen. Since first studies of VOORHORST et al. (7), the role of pyroglyphid mites was clearly established in the etiology of respiratory allergic diseases. Identifying house dust mites through visual count methods is exceedingly cumbersome. Major house dust mite allergens have been purified and it is now possible to measure these allergens accurately in house dust or air samples. TOVEY et al. (6) demonstrated that the antigen PI, the major allergen from dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt) was mainly identified in mite fecal pellets in which PI concentration can reach 0.1 ng/particle. Recently, PLATTS-MILLS et al. (5) have developed a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for antigen PI measurement. However visual count methods as well as RIA cannot be easily used on large numbers of samples and without elaborated technicity.KeywordsHouse DustScratch TestMite AllergenDermatophagoides PteronyssinusRespiratory Allergic DiseaseThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.