Objective: Peanut is one of the most frequently reported allergens causing severe allergies in western countries. In China, however, there have been few reports of severe allergies caused by peanuts. We investigated the peanut allergen components sensitization and cross-reaction with pollen allergen in Chinese Southerners with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma.
Methods: Total IgE (tIgE) and specific IgE (sIgE) antibodies against Ara h 1, Ara h 8, Juglans  pollen, Platanus  pollen, birch pollen, Bet v 1, Bet v 4, and cross-reactive carbohydrate determinant (CCD) of 58 allergic patients, of whom 33 were peanut-sIgE positive and 25 were negative, were detected by the ImmunoCAP system. The relationships between peanut allergen and pollen allergens were analyzed.
Results: A 9.1% (3/33) of the patients with peanut sensitization were sensitized to Ara h 8, while 21.2% (7/33) were sensitized to Ara h 1. The peanut-sensitized group had significantly higher positive rates for sIgE antibodies against CCD (69.7% vs 4.0%), Juglans  pollen (87.9% vs 12.0%), Platanus  pollen (90.9% vs 16.0%), and birch pollen (60.6% vs 4.0%) than the peanut tolerance group (all P < 0.05). Spearman correlation showed that peanut-sIgE were significantly correlated with sIgE to CCD (r_s =0.859), Juglans pollen (r_s =0.772), Platanus  pollen (r_s =0.838) and birch pollen (r_s =0.816).
Conclusion: The majority of patients sensitized to peanut allergen in Southern China tested positive for multiple pollen allergens. Peanut sensitization was highly correlated with Platanus, Juglans , and birch pollen sensitization, which suggested there may be cross-reactions between peanut and pollen allergens. Clinicians should pay attention to distinguish diagnosis in clinical peanut allergy diagnosis and treatment.
Keywords: peanut sensitization, pollen allergen, specific IgE, cross-reactivity, CCD