Relationship between Poaceae pollen and Phl p 5 allergen concentrations and the impact of weather variables and air pollutants on their levels in the atmosphere

Abstract

The sensitization to grass pollen is a known problem in European countries. Phl p 5 is an important allergen recognized by the majority of grass sensitized individuals. In this study, we evaluated daily variation in airborne Poaceae pollen and Phl p 5 allergen concentrations to determine whether airborne pollen concentrations alone are sufficient to reflect the actual allergenic potential of the air. The relationships between the mentioned pollen and allergen concentrations and associated environmental variables were also examined. The airborne particles were collected during the Poaceae flowering season in Bratislava in 2019. Pollen sampling was performed using a Hirst-type sampler, while a cyclone sampler was used for the aeroallergen capturing. Allergenic molecules were quantified by ELISA assay. The associations between pollen and allergen concentrations showed that these two variables are positively correlated; however, the correlation was not significant. We observed the concurrent occurrence of airborne pollen and allergen peaks on the same day. Nevertheless, during some days of the pollen season, the allergen concentrations did not correspond to the airborne pollen values. Moreover, the days with low pollen concentration but high pollen potency and vice versa were observed. The effect of selected environmental variables on daily pollen and allergen concentrations was evaluated through Spearman's correlation analysis. Of all meteorological variables considered, air temperature, precipitation, and relative air humidity were significantly correlated with airborne pollen and/or allergen concentrations. The association with air temperature was positive, while the negative association was observed with precipitation and relative air humidity. Among the atmospheric pollutants, O3 and PM10 were significantly and positively associated with both pollen and allergen concentrations, whereas CO and PM2.5 were significantly and positively associated only with pollen concentration.