Special issue: Responsible writing in science ©Copyright by Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creative- commons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles in any medium or format and to remix, transform and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and any changes properly indicated. Abstract The initial laboratory approach in the diagnosis of allergies is to detect the type of allergic reaction, i.e. whether the patient’s allergy is mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE) or not. For this purpose, the concentration of total serum IgE (tIgE) and specifc IgE (sIgE) are determined. Progress in laboratory diagnostics is the use of component-resolved diagnosis (CRD) which implies determination of sIgE against purifed native and recombi- nant allergenic molecules. Component-resolved diagnosis is used in laboratory practice as singleplex and multiplex assays. The choice of allergen for singleplex assay is based on anamnesis, clinical fndings of a patient and on skin prick test results. Multiplex-microarray assays simultaneously determine multiple sIgE’s against numerous allergens. The goal of CRD is to distinguish the true allergens from the cross-reactive allergen molecules. Component-resolved diagnosis allows predicting the risk of severe symptoms, as well as anticipating the development of allergies. Thus, determi- nation of sIgE against allergenic components may signifcantly improve current diagnostics of allergy. Since this method is applied in laboratory practice just a few years, it is necessary to acquire new knowledge and experience, to establish good co-operation between specialist in medical biochemistry and laboratory medicine and the specialist allergologist, so that the method can be applied in a rational manner. Component-resolved diagnosis will signifcantly improve the diagnostics of IgE-mediated allergy in the future. The aim of this article is to present potentials of CRD in the laboratory diagnostics of allergy mediated by IgE. Key words: allergy; IgE; component-resolved diagnosis Received: November 29, 2017 Accepted: January 28, 2018 The potential of component-resolved diagnosis in laboratory diagnostics of allergy Slavica Dodig*, Ivana Čepelak Department of medical biochemistry and hematology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb *Corresponding author: slavica.dodig@zg.t-com.hr https://doi.org/10.11613/BM.2018.020501 Biochem Med (Zagreb) 2018;28(2):020501 1 Review Introduction The initial laboratory approach in the diagnosis of allergies (such as atopic eczema, food allergy, rhi- nitis and wheezing disorders) is to detect the type of allergic reaction, i.e. whether the patient’s aller- gy is mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE) or not. For this purpose, the concentration of serum total IgE (tIgE) is determined. Today, the determination of tIgE concentration, as a simple and automated method, is an integral part of the screening pro- cess for subjects with atopy (1). Thereafter follows the procedure for identifcation of allergens which triggered allergic reaction, by determination of specifc IgE (sIgE) against possible causative aller- gens to which the skin test, history and clinical pic- ture of the patient were pointed out (2,3). Determi- nation of sIgE concentration over a number of years implied identifcation of sIgE by allergenic extract materials derived from natural allergen source materials. Progress in laboratory diagnos- tics of IgE-mediated allergy is the use of compo- nent-resolved diagnosis (CRD) or molecular diag- nosis of allergies. Component-resolved diagnosis implies determination of sIgE concentration against purifed native and recombinant allergenic molecules (4-6). Natural allergenic molecules may be purifed by chemical, chromatographic, elec- trophoretic and/or immunoafnity techniques from allergen extracts of natural allergen source materials. Production of a recombinant allergen is a highly complex process comprising a whole se-