The Journal of laboratory and clinical medicine
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Proteins and allergens in natural rubber latex were characterized by a two-dimensional immunoblot method with serum samples from 17 patients with latex allergy of whom 10 had spina bifida and 7 were health care workers. We demonstrated in rubber tree sap approximately 240 polypeptides of which 57 bound immunoglobulin E (IgE) in patient serum samples. Forty-six of the 57 allergens were identified by patients with spina bifida, 19 of 57 allergens by health care workers, and 8 of 57 allergens by both patient groups. ⋯ This cluster of 11 allergens was identified by none of the 7 health care workers and by only 1 of 5 patients with spina bifida without demonstrable anaphylaxis. These preliminary findings indicate that patients with spina bifida in whom latex hypersensitivity has developed exhibit a strong anti-latex IgE immune response, which seems to differ markedly from the immune response of health care workers with latex allergy. The characteristic anti-latex IgE profile in patients with spina bifida and with a history of an anaphylactic reaction may be valuable in the evaluation of pathogenetic processes in latex allergy.