This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Oral birch allergy syndrome

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Oral birch allergy syndrome:

  • patients with birch pollen allergy frequently develop hypersensitivity reactions to certain foods, e.g. apples, celery, carrots and hazelnuts

    • reactions are mainly caused by IgE-antibodies specific for the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v 1, which cross-react with homologous proteins in these foods

    • food allergy represents an important manifestation of atopic allergy
      • primary food allergy mainly affects young children whereas adults frequently develop food allergy as a consequence of an inhalant sensitization
        • pollen-related food allergy has become the most frequent form of food allergy in adolescent and adult individuals in Europe
          • a typical example is the 'birch-fruit-vegetable-syndrome'.
            • more than 70% of birch pollen-allergic individuals develop allergic reactions to stone-fruits, nuts or certain vegetables. In the majority of patients these reactions are confined to the oropharynx and summarized as 'oral allergy syndrome' (OAS)
            • nevertheless, systemic IgE-mediated reactions such as urticaria, asthma or anaphylactic shock occur occasionally

        • the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v 1, is the most relevant sensitizing protein causing this type of food allergy but minor allergens such as Bet v 2, Bet v 5 and Bet v 6 have also been shown to be involved
          • whereas these allergens are recognized by 10-32% of birch pollen-allergic patients, more than 95% display IgE against Bet v 1(4)

Notes:

  • major birch pollen allergen belongs to the pathogenesis-related (PR) protein family
    • other members of this protein family are present in various foods, such as fruits of Rosaceae (e.g. Mal d 1 in apple, Pru a 1 in cherry, Pyr c 1 in pear), vegetables of Apiaceae (e.g. Api g 1 in celery, Dau c 1 in carrot), hazelnut (Cor a 1), soybean (Gly m 4), mungbean (Vig r 1) and peanut (Ara h 8)
      • these proteins share a high degree of amino acid sequence similarity with the major birch pollen allergen resulting in a similar tertiary structure
      • thus, Bet v 1-specific IgE antibodies can bind to these dietary proteins which may cause immediate hypersensitivity reactions upon consumption of the respective foods
      • IgE-cross-reactivity between Bet v 1 and food homologues correlates roughly with the similarity of their primary protein structures

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.