Mugwort Extract Research Articles

Mechanism of allergic cross-reactions. V. High incidence of unanticipated cross-stimulation by natural allergens of rat basophilic leukemia cells sensitized with monoclonal IgE antibodies.

The incidence of cross-stimulations by natural allergens was investigated using RBL-2H3 cells sensitized with five different mouse monoclonal anti-DNP IgEs and four mercury-induced rat monoclonal IgEs. Cells sensitized with 3 of the 5 monoclonal anti-DNP IgEs (clones SPE-7, SRT-1, LB4) responded by serotonin release upon stimulation by natural allergens such as Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, horse dander and mugwort extracts. Serotonin release could be inhibited by monovalent DNP-lysine, indicating the involvement of DNP-binding sites of IgEs. Two of the clones (LO-DNP-30 and LA2) were negative on all tests with allergens. All but one (Hg32) of the mercury-induced rat IgE monoclonal antibodies tested positive with DNP-BSA, and with at least one of the six allergen extracts. IgE clone Hg12 mediated serotonin release with 5 of the 6 allergens tested.

ヨモギエキスの抗炎症効果の検討

ヨモギエキスの抗炎症効果の検討

Selection of patients for biological standardization as exemplified by standardization of mugwort, goosefoot and English plantain pollen allergen extracts/preparations.

The biological activity of a partly purified, biochemically/immunochemically characterized mugwort pollen allergen preparation and crude pollen extracts of mugwort, goosefoot and English plantain was determined by means of skin prick test (SPT). The patient inclusion criteria with mugwort were a well-defined positive clinical history and a positive SPT. Symptoms related to goosefoot/English plantain pollens are difficult to define, as these weeds flower during the grass pollen season. Thus patients tested with these allergens did not fulfill the most important inclusion criterion for so-called biological standardization. To elicit a wheal of the same size as that produced by histamine 1 mg/ml required 100 to 10,000 times more material from these weeds, than from mugwort and other pollen allergen extracts investigated earlier. One thousand Biological Units/ml (BU/ml) corresponded to 8.3 micrograms dry weight (dw/ml) of the crude and 1.8 micrograms dw/ml of the purified mugwort pollen allergen preparation. Only 7/22 goosefoot-and English plantain-tested patients were positive at conjunctival or nasal challenge. All three weeds showed a similar composition with 5-10 allergens by CIE/CRIE analysis and 10-13 by immunoblotting analysis. One dominating allergen (approx. 15,000 d), could be identified for each weed species by protein gel blot after separation by SDS g-PAGE. There was no other explanation for the difference in biological activity than the criteria of selection. If there is no obvious clinical history, which is the main patient inclusion criterion in biological standardization, then additional criteria should be used.