Enzymes involved in oxygen metabolism in the olive (Olea europaea L.) pollen, and their contribution to allergy

Resumen del póster presentado al IV Spanish and Portuguese Meeting on Free Radicals, celebrado en Valencia (España) del 5 al 7 de junio de 2012.Olive pollen is a major cause of allergy in Mediterranean countries. Numerous studies are devoted to the characterization of allergy-eliciting proteins from this allergenic source. However, recent research is focusing on the study of other non-allergenic protein and non-protein components modulating the allergic immune response. These molecules include pollen-associated lipid mediators, adenosine, proteases and oxidases, particularly NAD(P)H oxidase (NOX) among others. The production of superoxide by NOX activity in various allergenic pollens has been recently described. NOX activity has been shown to induce oxidative stress in cultured airway epithelium, driving to allergic inflammation. We report here the presence, molecular characteristics and expression of a NOX enzyme in olive pollen. Moreover, we describe the presence, activity and cellular localization of a well characterized allergenic protein from olive pollen (Ole e 5) displaying relevant homology with Cu/Zn SODs from different species, and a Mn-SOD also from olive pollen. The incidence of Ole e 5 in type I hypersensitivity reactions to olive pollen has been reported to be 35%, whereas several Mn-SODs have also been identified as allergens in different species. In addition to their intrinsic allergenic properties, both enzymes may regulate the levels of NOX-generated superoxide, therefore modulating the inflammation response to this pollen. A model of the interactions occurring among these molecules themselves, their substrates/products and the immune system is proposed.This work was supported by by ERDF-cofunded projects BFU2011-22779, P2010-AGR6274, P2010-CVI5767 and P2011-CVI-7487, Czech Science Foundation grant GACR 522/09/P299 to M.P. and a research agreement CSIC (Spain)-AVCR (Czech Republic) Ref. 2010CZ0001. MJ Jiménez-Quesada and A Zafra thanks the CSIC for JAE grant funding.Peer reviewe