Background: Recent studies have caused much controversy about the prevalence of IgE antibodies to Hev b 1 among health care workers (HCWs) and patients with spina bifida (SB) who are allergic to latex. This investigation was carried out to verify the results reported.
Method: Serum samples from 140 patients with SB as well as from 105 HCWs allergic to latex were tested by enzyme allergosorbest test (EAST) and EAST-inhibition assay to evaluate the rate and degree of sensitization to highly purified Hev b 1.
Results: Eighty-one percent of patients with SB who were allergic to latex had IgE antibodies against Hev b 1. The prevalence of anti-Hev b 1 antibodies among HCWs allergic to latex was 52.3%. In 15 of 33 serum samples from patients with SB that were randomly tested, the IgE binding to commercial latex allergens could be completely inhibited by Hev b 1; in only six cases was the maximum inhibition of IgE binding to latex by Hev b 1 less than 50%. Testing two monoclonal anti-Hev b 1 antibodies with extracts of five brands of latex gloves revealed a predominant presence of Hev b 1 protein as a monomer or its aggregates. Molecular analysis of human leukocyte antigen-D region genes DRB and DQB1 suggested no statistically significant correlation between the human leukocyte antigen alleles tested and IgE responsiveness to Hev b 1.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that Hev b 1 not only makes significant contributions to the IgE binding to latex, but it is also the unique sensitizer in about 45% of patients with SB who are allergic to latex.