Sesquiterpene lactone mix as a diagnostic tool for Asteraceae allergic contact dermatitis: chemical explanation for its poor performance and Sesquiterpene lactone mix II as a proposed improvement.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Two preparations are currently in use for the diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis caused by Asteraceae: (i) Sesquiterpene lactone (SL) mix [three pure sesquiterpene lactones (STLs)], whose use has been questioned, owing to an insufficient rate of true-positive results; and (ii) Compositae mix, consisting of five Asteraceae extracts, which is problematic because of lack of standardization and questionable reproducibility.

OBJECTIVES:

To analyse the reasons for the narrow sensitivity of SL mix from a chemoinformatic point of view, and to propose a solution by rational selection of alternative constituents for a new SL mix II covering a broader cohort of allergic patients.

MATERIALS/METHODS:

Structural and biological information on allergenic STLs was retrieved from databases and the literature, and molecular modelling and chemoinformatic computations were performed.

RESULTS:

An explanation for the insufficient hit rate of SL mix is that the three constituents possess extremely similar molecular structures/properties and do not represent well the structural diversity of allergenic STLs. STLs that are known as constituents of Compositae mix plants show much a wider diversity, which explains the higher positive rate.

CONCLUSIONS:

On the basis of their positions in chemical property space, a new collection of STLs that more evenly cover the overall structural diversity spectrum is proposed. SL mix II is likely to detect a larger number of patients sensitized to Asteraceae.

• Authors: Mathias Jacob, Jürgen Brinkmann, Thomas J Schmidt
• Journal: Contact dermatitis (Contact Dermatitis) Vol. 66 Issue 5 Pg. 233-40 (May 2012) ISSN: 1600-0536 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 22486565 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Chemical References

• Allergens
• Lactones
• Plant Extracts
• Sesquiterpenes

Topics

• Allergens (chemistry)
• Asteraceae (adverse effects, chemistry)
• Dermatitis, Allergic Contact (diagnosis)
• Humans
• Lactones (chemistry)
• Patch Tests (methods)
• Plant Extracts (chemistry)
• Reproducibility of Results
• Sensitivity and Specificity
• Sesquiterpenes (chemistry)