Collectors’ Work Nothing To Sneeze At Lab Crew Gathers Pollen In First Step To Treating Common Allergies

When you collect pollen for a living, and you’re not a bee, it helps to have a ladder.

And when pollen is peaking, it helps to have a lot of temporary worker bees.

If you find a note left on your door requesting some samples of your privet hedge, it’s likely from someone at Hollister-Stier Laboratories in Spokane wanting in on your pollen action.

“People find it interesting,” said collector Mandi Vaughn said. “We get a lot of looks.”

“But no offers to help,” added her supervisor, Dan Mork.

When pollen peaks, so do allergies. Collecting pollen is the front end of an allergy treatment known as immunotherapy.

Here’s the buzz: Immunotherapy says that the stuff out in your back yard that makes you sneeze and sniffle is the same stuff that will help cure you. It’s not as easy as going out and taking a big whiff of pollen; thus the role of pollen collectors, scientists, laboratories, allergists and injections.

Hollister-Stier Laboratories in Spokane is the leading company in the world dealing the allergen extracts - the substances some allergy sufferers are injected with to build resistance to the allergen and to relieve symptoms.

The theory is that unlike medications that just treat symptoms, immunotherapy - or allergy shots - can actually cure your allergy over time. The company deals with every imaginable allergen, but as many noses know, the focus at this time of year is on pollen.

Through spring and summer, Hollister-Stier hires 10 to 20 temporary workers to collect pollen from yards, parks, businesses and wherever the necessary plants, trees, weeds, grasses or flowers may be growing.

On Thursday a trio of workers collected flowers from black walnut trees near Millwood. The timing on gathering all species is critical - you can’t pick the flowers too early or too late or they won’t bloom in the lab, said Mork, the supervisor of pollen production at Hollister-Stier. As his title implies, Mork is the queen bee, so to speak, overseeing all the pollen.

Vaughn, Carrie Farris and Felice Butler put their collection bags over their shoulders, grab their ladders and go to work on the black walnut. The women need to collect 3,000 grams of pollen from the tree. There are 5,000 pollen grains per seed, Mork said. How many grains make a gram? Forget the math; they collected three bagfuls, about the size newspaper carriers used to wear.

Farris said she is an old pro at collection - this is her third summer working for Hollister-Stier. A WSU graduate in psychology, she’s going to attend grad school in the fall. She said the timing is perfect: School ends when the pollen season begins and vice-versa.

Vaughn, a plant biology graduate from Western, is in her second pollen-collecting year. In the fall she will study molecular biology at graduate school in Austin, Texas.

Butler, who is studying biochemistry at WSU, is in her first season of pollen collecting.

What and how much they collect depends on what orders the company gets, Mork said. There are 30 to 50 different plant allergens, he said. Some allergies are more common. For example, while they will collect 3,000 grams of pollen from the black walnut tree, they will need to get 10,000 to 15,000 grams from bluegrass, Mork said.

In the lab, the protein from the 3,000 grams of pollen is collected and eventually turned into six quarts of liquid extract. The pure extract is sold to allergists and pharmaceutical companies. In addition to the individual extracts are combinations - such as Tree Mix No. 11 and Mold Mix No. 10. As the names imply, the mixes have multiple varieties of allergens.

The pollen collectors have a small window of time to do their work, depending on the weather, Mork said. Some pollen can’t be collected in the rain. If spring comes early and suddenly the weather changes, that’s it - there’s no blooming for certain species and no collection, he said.

Pistils and stamens

Remember this definition of pollen from fourth grade: the yellow, powderlike male sex cells formed in the anther of the stamen of the flower.

The workers pick the male part of the flower and leave the female alone, Mork said. It is the plant and tree species that rely on air-pollination that cause allergy sufferers the most problems, he said.

Spokane is no worse (or better) than other places when it comes to allergens. The 50 major cities in the U.S. all have the same 30 to 40 kinds of trees, Mork said. The biggest problem in Spokane is dust from unpaved roads, from the Palouse and other surrounding agricultural areas.

When it comes to pollen, grasses are the worst offenders, based on national sales of the extracts, he said. Grass grown commercially gets tall enough to flower, which sends the pollen airborne, he said.

“The rare times we get an eastern wind, the allergists’ phones light up,” Mork said.

If you step outside now you might see cottonlike tufts floating in the air or a big yellow stain of pine pollen on the street. But those visible pollens aren’t the ones making you cry and sneeze, Mork said.

When you see the fluffy stuff floating around, it’s the same time that birch is blooming and causing the problem, Mork said. When you see the big pine pollen stains, it’s usually grass you are reacting to, he said.

There is so much pine pollen in the area, Mork said, that if it were a strong allergen, just about everybody would be sick.

So far this spring the workers have collected pollen from these trees: box elder, maple, various birches, cottonwood, black walnut, sycamore, sugar maple, and Russian olive. In June, they will concentrate on the grasses.

The pollen collectors gather up their ladders and head for their truck. They have a lot more stops and pollen to collect. They take a look back at the black walnut.

“That’s a good tree,” Farris said.

A fine tree, a little lighter on the pollen.

Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. HISTORY Cure `summer cold’

Hollister-Stier was founded in 1921 in Spokane by chemist Guy Hollister and Dr. Robert E. Stier. The company began partially as the result of Mrs. Hollister’s “summer cold,” which the scientists discovered was caused by grasses in the area. They developed a vaccine to help her, and allergen extracts, and the company’s focus, were born.

2. Allergy facts

Allergies affect an estimated 40 to 50 million people in the United States.

The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology advises allergy sufferers to consult with an allergist-immunologist to develop a treatment plan.

Avoiding pollen is one way people can help themselves. The college advises:

Keep windows closed and use air-conditioning in summer, if possible. A High Energy Particulate Air filter or an electrostatic precipitator may help clean pollen and mold from indoor air. Automobile air conditioners help, too.

Don’t hang clothing outdoors to dry. Pollen may cling to sheets and towels.

The air is most heavily saturated with pollen and mold between 5 and 10 a.m., so early morning is a good time to limit outdoor activities.

Wear a dust mask when mowing the lawn, raking leaves or gardening and take appropriate medication beforehand.