Glycans and glycan-specific IgE in clinical and molecular allergology: sensitization, diagnostics, and clinical symptoms

A Homann, G Schramm, U Jappe - Journal of Allergy and Clinical …, 2017 - Elsevier
Glycan-specific IgE antibodies cross-react with highly similar or even identical carbohydrate
structures on a variety of different natural allergens, the so-called cross-reactive
carbohydrate determinants (CCDs). In clinical practice CCDs often interfere with the
specificity of in vitro allergy diagnostics, thus impairing allergy therapy decisions for
individual patients. Strikingly, these IgE antibodies directed against CCDs often do not
cause clinically relevant allergy symptoms. On the other hand, the IgE-binding glycan …