J ALLERGY CLIN IMMUNOL VOLUME 105, NUMBER 1. PART 2 Abstracts S227 two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae, TSM) were important allergens in fruit-cultivating farmers with asthma and/or rhinitis. Allergenic cross-reactivity between house dust mite and storage mite is well known, but little is known about possible cross-reactiv- ity between spider mites and the domestic mites. Objective: To eval- uate allergenicity of the spider mites and its cross-reactivity with the Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (DP) and Tyrophagus putres- centiae (TP). METHODS: SDS-PAGE and immunoblot was performed to determine IgE-binding components of the spider mites in 20 sera from subjects with high serum specific IgE. ELISA inhibition tests were done to evaluate allergenic cross-reactivity between the spider mites and the domestic mites. RESULTS: More than half of the 20 sera had three or more IgE binding components to the each spider mite. In pooled sera from five subjects with high serum IgE to CRM, but not to DP, strong inhibitions upto 90% were noted with additions of CRM and ERM, in a dose-dependent manner, moderate inhibition with TSM. but minimal inhibitions with DP and TP. In sera from those with high serum IgE to DP, but not to CRM, strong inhibition was noted with DP but minimal inhibitions with the other mites. In sera from those with high serum IgE to TP, strong inhibitions were noted with TP and DP but minimal inhibitions with the spider mites. In sera from those with high serum IgE to ERM, strong inhibitions were noted with ERM and CRM, but moderate inhibitions with TSM, DP, and TP. In sera from those with high serum IgE to TSM, strong inhibi- tions were noted with TSM, ERM, and CRM. but moderate inhibi- tions with the domestic mites. CONCLUSION: Spider mites-derived allergens may contain species specific allergens in addition to common sharing allergens with domestic mites. The closer the taxonomic relationship between mites is, the greater the level of allergenic cross-reactivity may be. 674 lntranasal Pollen Count for Japanese Cedar Pollinosis (JPC) M Okuda. K Ohkubo, M Goro Nippon Medical School, Tokyo Pollinosis is a common disease worldwide. JCP is prevalent in approximately 1% of the Japanese population from February to March. Airborne pollen count is popular but intranasal pollen count is rarely performed. The purpose of our study is to reveal intranasal pollen count in relation to the environmental airborne pollen, the onset of symptoms, and the clinical significance of pollen forecast. Subjects were selected from workers with or without JCP, at our clinic in the center of Tokyo, who come to the clinic by train and on foot for I h, collecting airborne pollen by a portable dust sampler with a pump. We also counted airborne pollen on the level of the nose by the same sampler in different environments such as the road and the inside of a train, a car, a house, and the clinic during the in- season in 1997 to 1998, together with falling pollen in a Durham- type collector on the roof of our clinic. Intranasal pollens were col- lected by nasal washing with 100 ml saline, filtration, and staining and then were counted. The recovery rate was greater than 90%. To determine the pollen count sufficient to induce nasal symptoms, subjects were pretreated by nasal washing and asked to inhale pollen by natural breathing through nose nozzles from a pollen box for 5 s and we repeated nasal washing 5 min after inhalation, observing the nasal symptoms induced. As a result the intranasal pollen count was 22.9 f 16.8 (n = 13) in subjects without JCP and 11.7 f 12.1 (n = I I) in subjects with JCP, and airborne pollen count on the roof was 47.5/cm2 for 24 h in an average of I week in the middle of March of 1997. Only a few pollens were counted in the environment, except the road. Inuanasal pollen count was well correlated with pollen count col- lected by portable dust sampler but not with that on the roof. In experimental pollen inhalation, pollen counts deposited in the nose were 65.0 + 85.7 (n = 7) for positive provocation reaction and 16.5 f 23.3 (n = 15) in negative response. In conclusion, airborne pollens are inhaled, deposited in the nose, and induce nasal symptoms when the pollens are increased to 30-50 in the nose. If symptoms occur, pollens are removed from the nose and decreased below about 10. Then symptoms may be sub- sided until nasal pollen increases to 30-50. Since the intranasal pollen count was not correlated with that on the roof, the counting method for pollen forecast should be improved considering increas- es in the number of survey stations, the level of collection, and col- lector from the clinical point of view, and the patients should con- sider the environmental differences of pollen count to refer to the pollen forecast to avoid Japanese cedar pollen. 675 Airborne Fel Dl: Collection Filters and Settling Rate JS Wanger. RJ Dockhom. PB Williams Pharmaceutical Research Asso- ciates, Inc., and IBT Reference Laboratory, Lenexa, KS Airborne cat allergen (Fe1 dl) is commonly collected and mea- sured in homes and laboratory cat-exposure rooms using a small portable pump and a filter contained in a plastic cassette. Published studies have reported using different types of filter material. Since there are a variety of filter products available and no recommenda- tions on which filter is best for measuring airborne cat allergen, we examined the recovery of airborne Fe1 dl using different filters. Additionally, studies of the characteristics of airborne particles bearing Fel dl have reported, what we believe is a little known fact, that Fel dl is mainly carried on larger particles that remain airborne for only short periods of time. Thus, we also examined the settling rate of the Fel dl allergen. A laboratory cat-exposure room con- taining two cats was used for these experiments. The ventilation to the room was turned off during the sampling periods. For the filter experiment, five types of 37-mm filters in plastic cassettes were used: cellulose-ester, polytetraflurorethylene, glass-fiber, isopore polycarbonate, and polyvinyl chloride. Three flow-calibrated Gilian air samplers and different filters were used in a randomized fashion with a 60 min. sampling period, and an artificial disturbance (sheet shaking) was created every I5 min. to raise the Fe1 dl levels. The settling rate experiment was carried out using a 37-mm glass-fiber filter, one sampling pump, a 30 min. sampling period, and a single artificial disturbance (carpet shaking) which was done immediately before air sampling was started. We found that the glass-fiber filter collected on average, 4 to 7 times more Fe1 dl than the other filters studied. In the settling-rate experiment we found that the increase in Fe1 dl levels from baseline were greatest within 30 min. after the disturbance, and that the Fel dl levels returned to baseline levels within 150 min after the disturbance. Thus, glass-fiber filters should be used for sampling airborne Fel d 1, and we confirmed the previ- ous findings that a significant amount of Fel dl allergen in a labo- ratory cat-exposure room with little air circulation falls from the air quickly. This suggests that after a disturbance of a reservoir of cat allergen, a majority of the Fel dlallergen launched into the air by the disturbance is carried on larger particles that remain airborne for only a short time.