Specific IgE and IgG4 antibodies to Japanese cedar pollen and total IgE antibody in lumbermen

Abstract

Serum levels of specific IgE and IgG4 antibodies to Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) pollen and total IgE antibody in 75 lumbermen and in 53 male office workers at an urban establishment were measured by means of an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared. No significant differences of specific IgE and IgG4 to cedar pollen and total IgE were found between the lumbermen and the office workers. There were no significant differences of incidence of cedar pollinosis and positive (greater than 100 FU/ml) rate of serum specific IgE between the two groups, though the lumbermen were exposed to dense concentrations of cedar pollen in their working area. In the lumbermen who showed positive values of specific IgE, the mean value of the specific antibody in Japanese cedar pollinosis lumbermen was significantly higher than that in symptom-free lumbermen, while no significant differences of serum level of specific IgG4 were found between the two groups.