Abstracts, XIV OPTIMA Meeting, Palermo (Italy) , 9-15

XIV OPTIMA Meeting, Palermo (Italy), 9-15 September 2013
Monitoring Networks in Aerobiology, from pollen to allergens
ALBERTINI R. AND HIALINE WORKING TEAM
Dept. of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Univ. of Parma; Unit of Medical Immunology – University Hospital of
Parma, Italy. E-mail: roberto.albertini@unipr.it
The prevalence and severity of allergic respiratory diseases have increased worldwide in the last
decades. Exposure to airborne allergens causes allergic sensitization and respiratory symptoms. Pollen
grain counts in ambient air have traditionally been assessed to estimate airborne allergen exposure.
Over 400 pollen monitoring stations from different national and regional networks in Europe contribute
to European Aeroallergen Network (EAN). The Italian Monitoring Network for Aerobiology
(R.I.M.A.®) of the Italian Association for Aerobiology (AIA), was born almost 30 years ago and carries
out its activities through over 40 centers belonging to Universities, Local Health Authorities,
Regional Environmental Protection Agencies and other public or private institutions. However, the
exact allergen content in ambient air is unknown. The HIALINE European 7FP project has addressed
this issue at the European level, by monitoring Poaceae, Betula and Olea pollen types and their major
allergens, i.e. Phl p5, Bet v1 and Ole e1. Tow samplers, a Hirst type volumetric pollen traps and a highvolume
Chemvol® cascade impactor have been used in this study. Some particles, PM between 2.5-10
µm, and >PM10 µm, have been collected, extracted, freeze-dryed and frozen until the immunoassay
analysis. The HIALINE project offered the opportunity to build an European network devoted to airborne
allergens measurement by using an standardized methods described by Buters et al. (2010). The
obtained results showed a correlation between the presence of airborne pollen and aeroallergens, showing
that the Poaceae, Betula and Olea pollen types appears to be the main, if not the only, source of
allergen. We have shown that exposure to aeroallergens does not only depend on the airborne pollen,
but also on allergen emission from pollen, observing >10-fold differences in daily allergen release.
Sometimes the observed results point out long-range transport of pollen with different allergenic potency
that local populations. These results, obtained during the HIALINE project, will open new ways to
understand the mechanism controlling sensitization and symptoms in patients with pollinosis. This
information will be very useful to improve diagnostic procedures, clinical trials and specific
immunotherapy, through a molecular view of aerobiology and allergology. In addition, some species
count with low or not allergen pollen content and authorities and individuals should awareness maintenance
and recommend them for public and private green urban spaces for improving the biological
quality of the air in our cities. This subject is not often adequately assessed, as it is consider with the
pollution in general.
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