Joana Vitte

Fungal sensitization and allergy are complex topics with many unanswered questions in terms of pathophysiology and unmet needs in clinical and laboratory practice. In recent years, advances in taxonomy, exposome science, and fungus− host interactions at the molecular level have been achieved. Letovsky et al 1 took advantage of these to analyze a vast database of real-world IgE testing results. The contribution of their findings to clinical practice is expected to support more accurate diagnosis of fungal sensitization and allergy, thus improving the management of an array of type 2-related chronic inflammatory diseases. Moreover, their findings brought undisputable real-world support for the clinical deployment of molecular allergen-assisted diagnosis of fungal sensitization. Allergic sensitization to fungi, defined as the demonstration of fungi-binding specific IgE, is a diagnostic biomarker of fungal allergy in …

BackgroundThe clinical significance of newly available platforms for specific IgE measurement must be evaluated. However, data are lacking for NOVEOS (Hycor), especially for food allergens.ObjectiveWe compared the technical and clinical performance of two platforms (ImmunoCAP and NOVEOS) to measure specific IgE to 10 food allergens.MethodsSera from 289 clinically characterized patients were tested for IgE specific for six food allergen extracts (egg white, cow’s milk, peanut, hazelnut, fish, and shrimp) and four molecular allergens (Gal d 1, Bos d 8, Ara h 2, and Cor a 14). Specific IgE measurements were carried out using ImmunoCAP and NOVEOS methods. Food allergy diagnoses were established according to international guidelines.ResultsA strong correlation (ρ > 0.9) was present between the two platforms whereas specific IgE concentrations measured with NOVEOS were consistently lower (mean …

The exponential rise in the prevalence of allergic diseases since the mid-twentieth century has led to a genuine public health emergency and has also fostered major progress in research on the underlying mechanisms and potential treatments. The management of allergic diseases benefits from the biological revolution, with an array of novel immunomodulatory therapeutic and investigational tools targeting players of allergic inflammation at distinct pathophysiological steps. Prominent examples include therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against cytokines, alarmins, and their receptors, as well as small-molecule modifiers of signal transduction mainly mediated by Janus kinases and Bruton's tyrosine kinases. However, the first-line therapeutic options have yet to switch from symptomatic to disease-modifying interventions. Here we present an overview of available drugs in the context of our current understanding of …

BackgroundPaired sampling of acute (aST) and basal (bST) serum tryptase has been recommended when investigating patients with a suspected perioperative hypersensitivity (POH) reaction. In the current consensus formula, an aST value exceeding (1.2×bST+2) confirms mast cell activation. The current consensus formula has been validated in adults but not in children.MethodsWe prospectively included 96 children who underwent uneventful anaesthesia and sampled serum tryptase at baseline and 60–90 min after induction. Tryptase changes were then compared with those in 94 children with suspected POH who were retrospectively included from four reference centres in Belgium, France, and Denmark.ResultsWe observed a median decrease in serum tryptase during uneventful anaesthesia of 0.41 μg L−1 (–15.9%; P<0.001). The current consensus formula identified mast cell activation in 31.9% of …

Access to the molecular culprits of allergic reactions leveraged molecular allergology as a new precision medicine approach, built on interdisciplinary, basic and clinical knowledge. Molecular allergology relies on the use of allergen molecules as in vitro tools for the diagnosis and management of allergic patients. It complements the conventional approach based on skin and in vitro allergen extract testing.Major applications of molecular allergology comprise accurate identification of the offending allergen thanks to discrimination between genuine sensitization and allergen cross-reactivity, evaluation of potential severity, patient-tailored choice of the adequate allergen immunotherapy and prediction of its expected efficacy and safety.Allergen cross-reactivity, defined as the recognition of two or more allergen molecules by antibodies or T cells of the same specificity, frequently interferes with allergen extract testing. At …

Treponematoses encompass a group of chronic and debilitating bacterial diseases transmitted sexually or by direct contact and attributed to Treponema pallidum. Despite being documented since as far back as 1963, the epidemiology of treponematoses in wild primates has remained an uninvestigated territory due to the inherent challenges associated with conducting examinations and obtaining invasive biological samples from wild animals. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the presence of treponemal infections in the critically endangered Western chimpanzees in Senegal, utilizing an innovative non-invasive stool serology method. We provide compelling evidence of the existence of anti-Treponema-specific antibodies in 13 out of 29 individual chimpanzees. Our study also underscores the significant potential of stool serology as a valuable non-invasive tool for monitoring and surveilling crucial …

Introduction (contexte de la recherche)Les graminées sont une des plus importantes sources d’aéroallergènes. Malgré la réactivité croisée, un large panel est disponible pour la recherche des IgE (5 mélanges, 21 extraits, 11 molécules). Il n’existe pas de données françaises sur les performances comparées de ces réactifs pour un choix raisonné.ObjectifComparer les sensibilisations vis-à-vis d’un mélange, d’extraits et de molécules de pollen de graminées dans trois régions françaises.MéthodesLes résultats de 632 patients (336 hommes, âge médian 15 ans, 1–84) cliniquement suspects d’une pollinose aux graminées, explorés au sein des laboratoires Synlab Provence, Inovie Île-de-France et du GHT Reims, ont été analysés rétrospectivement. Les IgE contre six extraits de pollens de graminées (flouve, dactyle, ivraie, phléole, seigle et houlque), le mélange les contenant et l’association d’allergènes moléculaires …

MethodsA retrospective French nationwide dataset of 4,271 patients with up to 295 allergen-specific IgE values and 25 encoded clinical items was collected in 2022 (French Society of Allergology (SFA), Health Data Hub (HDH), AllergoBioNet). An international crowdsourced machine learning 3-month competition was hosted by Trustii. io. The aim was to predict allergy diagnosis, severity, category (airborne vs food vs venom) and culprit allergen. Criteria for algorithm evaluation were the F-score and external validation (80%-20%, respectively).ResultsA total of 3135 algorithms submissions were submitted by 292 data scientists. Best F-scores were very close to 80%. Models associated with highest F-scores used multiple binary classifier such as LightGBM, CatBoost, XGBoost (adapted for tabular datasets with categorical features). Associating rule mining, feature engineering and determining unique thresholds …

Reliable epidemiological data and advances in the diagnostic procedures can facilitate the detection of ABPA among asthmatic patients, improving the management of a still under-recognized and challenging condition.

MethodsAn international team of allergy and IT experts designed and implemented a comprehensive English OER in allergen science, unrestricted, available worldwide, and monitored anonymously at country level (unique visitors, visit-duration, webpages consulted). Top 10 user countries were analyzed as a function of English status and 5-year PubMed publications (allergen AND country).ResultsAn OER (Allergen Encyclopedia) addressing allergen extracts and molecules was implemented with> 550 webpages and received> 345,000 unique visits (Nov 2020-Oct 2022). Top 10 countries comprised 5 E and 5 non-E. OER visits from E were shorter (4 vs 7 min, p 10e-5), spanned fewer webpages (1.7 vs 4, p 7e-7), with greater median visit-duration per page in E (2 vs 1 min, p 0.002). In both groups, publication output had a positive association (Pearson’s coefficient 0.97 and 0.61) with the number of unique visitors …

Comparison of analytical performance of three multiallergen respiratory screening assays - Aix-Marseille Université Accéder directement au contenu Documentation FR Français (FR) Anglais (EN) Se connecter Portail HAL AMU Recherche Loading... Recherche avancée Information de documents Titres Titres Sous-titre Titre de l'ouvrage Titre du volume (Série) Champ de recherche par défaut (multicritères) + texte intégral des PDF Résumé Texte intégral indexé des documents PDF Mots-clés Type de document Sous-type de document Tous les identifiants du document Identifiant HAL du dépôt Langue du document (texte) Pays (Texte) Ville À paraître (true ou false) Ajouter Auteur Auteur (multicritères) Auteur (multicritères) Auteur : Nom complet Auteur : Nom de famille Auteur : Prénom Auteur : Complément de nom, deuxième prénom Auteur : Organisme payeur Auteur : IdHal (chaîne de caractères) Auteur : Fonction …

Author links open overlay panel M. Michel a b c, M. Lagreula d, J. Charpy c e, J. Goret b e, S. Mehlal-Sedkaoui b f, J.-L. Bourrain g h i, J. Vitte c i j

MethodsA phenotypic screen was performed in 12 different primary human cell systems. Cytokine production (ELISA, Luminex), focusing on TGF-b and IL-10 expression, was measured in murine and human monocyte-derived macrophages (Mph) and dendritic cells (DCs).

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a rare disease characterized by a complex allergic inflammatory reaction of airways against Aspergillus affecting patients with chronic respiratory diseases (asthma, cystic fibrosis). Exacerbation is often the way to diagnose ABPA and marks its evolution by its recurrent character leading to cortico-requirement or long-term antifungal treatment. Early diagnosis allows treatment of ABPA at an initial stage, preventing recurrence of exacerbations and long-term complications, mainly represented by bronchiectasis. This review of the literature aims to present the current state of the art in terms of diagnosis and treatment of ABPA from a multidisciplinary perspective. As there is no clinical, biological nor radiological specific sign, diagnostic criteria are regularly revised. They are mainly based on the elevation of total and specific IgE against Aspergillus fumigatus and the …

Background The aim of this study was to compare the technical and clinical effectiveness of two platforms (Phadia ImmunoCAP™ and Hycor NOVEOS) for the measurement of IgE specific for 10 food allergens. Methods 289 patients, as part of allergy diagnosis or of their follow-up were included and tested for IgE specific for six food allergen extracts (egg white, cow’s milk, peanut, hazelnut, fish, shrimp) and four molecular allergens (Gal d 1, Bos d 8, Ara h 2, Cor a 14). Specific IgE measurements were carried out using the ImmunoCAP™ and NOVEOS methods. Food allergy diagnosis was established according to international guidelines. Results A very good correlation (rho>0.9) was present between the two platforms, while specific IgE concentrations measured with NOVEOS were consistently lower (mean -15%) than with ImmunoCAP™. NOVEOS provided higher overall odd-ratios and relative risks for allergen extracts than ImmunoCAP™, but the difference was not significant. When all ten allergens were considered, NOVEOS provided better ROC curves (p=0.03) and thus, had a better ability to establish the true value. Finally, we found that the most discordant results were observed with hazelnut and peanut extracts, and were related to cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants on these two ImmunoCAP™. Conclusions Specific IgE determination by either ImmunoCAP™ (odd-ratios of allergy = 25.1) or NOVEOS (odd-ratios of allergy = 33.0) is similarly highly informative on the risk of allergy in the selected population. The NOVEOS platform presents the advantage of being less affected by unwanted reactivity due to IgE specific for carbohydrate …

Tryptase is currently the main mast cell biomarker available in medical practice. Tryptase determination is a quantitative test performed in serum or plasma for the diagnosis, stratification, and follow-up of mast cell–related conditions. The continuous secretion of monomeric α and β protryptases forms the baseline tryptase level. Transient, activation-induced release of tryptase is known as acute tryptase. Because mast cells are tissue-resident cells, the detection of an acute tryptase release in the bloodstream is protracted, with a delay of 15 to 20 minutes after the onset of symptoms and a peak at approximately 1 hour. Constitutive release of tryptase is a marker of mast cell number and activity status, whereas transient release of mature tryptase is a marker of mast cell degranulation. Although consensual as a concept, the application of this statement in clinical practice has only been clarified since 2020. For baseline …

The current monkeypox disease (MPX) outbreak constitutes a new threat and challenge for our society. With more than 55,000 confirmed cases in 103 countries, World Health Organization declared the ongoing MPX outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on July 23, 2022. The current MPX outbreak is the largest, most widespread, and most serious since the diagnosis of the first case of MPX in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country where MPX is an endemic disease. Throughout history, there have only been sporadic and self‐limiting outbreaks of MPX outside Africa, with a total of 58 cases described from 2003 to 2021. This figure contrasts with the current outbreak of 2022, in which more than 55,000 cases have been confirmed in just 4 months. MPX is, in most cases, self‐limiting; however, severe clinical manifestations and complications have been …

Introduction (contexte de la recherche)L’immunité intestinale des nouveau-nés prématurés est méconnue. La présence d’immunoglobulines G (IgG) maternelles dans les selles de prématurés a été rapportée, mais leur spécificité n’est pas connue. Chez des enfants nés à terme, des liens entre des IgG circulantes vis-à-vis d’antigènes environnementaux et le développement ultérieur de maladies allergiques ont été suggérés.ObjectifÉtablir des profils d’IgG fécales néonatales chez le prématuré en déterminant leur spécificité vis-à-vis d’un large panel d’antigènes environnementaux. Comparer ces profils selon l’apparition ou non d’une maladie allergique pendant la 1ère année de vie.MéthodesAu total, 21 prélèvements fécaux néonataux (cohorte de prématurés, NCT02738411) ont été sélectionnés selon l’apparition ou non d’un asthme, d’une dermatite atopique (DA) ou d’une allergie alimentaire (allergie au lait de …

Le réseau AllergoBioNet est constitué de biologistes hospitaliers spécialistes des analyses contribuant au diagnostic et au suivi des maladies allergiques. Initialement constitué d’une dizaine de membres, il comporte actuellement soixante-dix-neuf biologistes français exerçant dans 29 CHU et 15 CH, ainsi qu’un biologiste belge. Parmi ces laboratoires, 10 ont été labellisés « laboratoires de biologie médicale de référence » (LBMR) du fait de leur expertise des explorations biologiques des maladies allergiques, des autres causes d’hypersensibilité, des pathologies mastocytaires et du complément. Les objectifs principaux des biologistes du réseau sont de tester et mettre en oeuvre des techniques robustes et fiables accréditées par le COFRAC, d’être un outil de formation médicale continue pour maintenir et actualiser les connaissances et compétences et de promouvoir des projets de recherche dont les résultats …

Background The natural history of immunoglobulin (Ig) E-mediated diseases in preterm infants is still elusive. We aimed at developing a non-invasive tool for detecting specific IgE (sIgE) and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) in neonatal fecal samples and evaluating its predictive value for the development of IgE-mediated diseases during the first year of life. Methods We developed a stool extraction protocol, followed by freeze-drying and solubilization. The sIgEs were investigated in neonatal fecal samples from 21 preterm infants with a 300-allergen multiplex and confirmed by a capillary Western blot with a nano-immunoassay. EDN concentration was used to investigate the local eosinophilic component. Results The multiplexed allergen assay detected sIgE in all of the samples. A Western blot was used to confirm the results. The frequency and levels of sIgE in the neonatal fecal samples differed between the infants who developed IgE-mediated diseases and the controls. Allergen specificity was associated with the development of cow’s milk allergy (CMA) and asthma. The development of CMA was predicted by the sIgE response to milk proteins (sensitivity was 88%; specificity was 78%). The EDN levels predicted the development of IgE-mediated diseases (sensitivity was 100%; specificity was 75%). Conclusion The non-invasive investigation of neonatal fecal sIgE is a promising tool for predicting the subsequent development of IgE-mediated diseases. Clinical Implications The non-invasive sIgE and EDN profiling of neonatal fecal samples from preterm infants can predict the development of IgE-mediated diseases.