Association between Serum Biotin Levels and Cedar Pollinosis in Japanese Schoolchildren

Biotin is a water-soluble B complex vitamin and coenzyme of five types of carboxylase and plays crucial roles in fatty acid, glucose, and amino acid metabolism. Nutritional biotin deficiency and defective enzymes essential for biotin metabolism cause inflammatory diseases such as eczema-like dermatitis and Crohn’s disease; however, little is known about the pathophysiological roles of biotin. This study investigated the relationship between biotin metabolism and human allergic sensitization and diseases by measuring serum levels of biotin, total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and allergen-specific IgEs in more than 400 Japanese schoolchildren aged 6 to 12. The prevalence of allergic diseases, and environmental and life-style factors were also examined by a questionnaire. Like total IgE, serum biotin levels of children showed a log-normal distribution. Meanwhile, Spearman’s rank correlation analysis showed weak but significant positive associations between serum biotin levels and total IgE (rho=0.147, p=0.0029) as well as allergen-specific IgEs against egg whites (rho=0.215, p=0.00013), cedar pollen (rho=0.176, p=0.00036), and cat dander (rho=0.130, p=0.0085). Furthermore, mean serum biotin levels in children with cedar pollinosis, but not with other allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis, were significantly higher than in those without (p=0.0015). These results suggest a correlation between serum biotin levels and the development of cedar pollinosis. Further prospective studies are needed to evaluate the causal relationship between biotin metabolism and cedar pollen sensitization and pollinosis development.