INTRODUCTION Beekeepers are a group of people with high exposure to honeybee stings and with a very high risk of allergy to bee venom. Therefore, they are a proper population to study the correlations between clinical symptoms and results of diagnostic tests. AIM The primary aim of our study was to assess the correlations between total IgE, venom- and phospholipase A2-specific IgE and clinica...

BACKGROUND We recently showed a desensitization of FcεRI-mediated basophil response after short-term VIT. Our aim was to evaluate the allergen specificity of this desensitization. METHODS In 11 Hymenoptera-venom double positive subjects, basophil threshold sensitivity (CD-sens) to anti-FcεRI, honeybee, and Vespula venom was assessed at the beginning and just before the first maintenance dose ...

BACKGROUND Immunoglobulin (Ig) E-mediated sensitization to N-glycans (cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants, CCDs) may induce double IgE reactivity to honeybee venom (HBV) and yellow jacket venom (YJV) in patients who are monosensitized to either of these venoms. Alcohol consumption is associated with increased IgE levels and possibly with sensitization to CCDs in the general population. O...

The purpose of diagnostic procedure is to classify a sting reaction by history, identify the underlying pathogenetic mechanism, and identify the offending insect. Diagnosis of Hymenoptera venom allergy thus forms the basis for the treatment. In the central and northern Europe vespid (mainly Vespula spp.) and honeybee stings are the most prevalent, whereas in the Mediterranean area stings from P...

Apis mellifera venom is one of the best characterized venoms among Hymenoptera, yet relatively little is known about venom belonging to other species in the genus Apis. Melittin, one of the most important bioactive peptides, has been isolated and characterized in A. mellifera, Apis cerana, Apis dorsata and Apis florea, while apamin has been only characterized in A. mellifera and A. cerana. At p...

BACKGROUND Diabetes is an important disease. This disease is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from perturbation in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Honey bee venom contains a wide range of polypeptide agents. The principle components of bee venom are mellitin and phospholipase A(2). These components increase insulin secretion from the β-cells of pancreas. ...

Insect stings can cause life-threatening IgE-mediated anaphylactic reactions in venom-allergic patients. Although several compounds have already been described as venom allergens, prominent allergen candidates especially in the higher m.w. range have still remained elusive. Tandem mass spectrometry-based sequencing assigned a candidate gene to the most prominent putative high m.w. allergen Api ...