title: Purification and characterization of the major allergen from apple and its allergenic cross-reactivity with Bet v 1.
abstract: The major allergen from apple extract was concentrated by anion exchange chromatography and further purified by reverse-phase HPLC. A distinct peak with a high degree of homogeneity was obtained. The isolated protein has a MW of 18 kD and specific IgE-binding capacity (immunoblotting, IgE-binding inhibition). N-terminal amino acid analyses of the allergen allowed 37 cleavages and showed 67.6% identity to Bet v 1, the major allergen of birch pollen. Enzyme immunoassay inhibition studies with serum of birch/apple-allergic patients showed that besides cross-reacting structures to Bet v 1, apple-specific IgE antibodies could exist. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were raised against the 18-kD allergen from apple and characterized by means of immunoblotting and ELISA. Only three of the eight studied mAbs reacted with Bet v 1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, University of Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fahlbusch
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rudeschko
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schlenvoigt
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vettermann
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jäger
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D003429:Cross Reactions; D005638:Fruit / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014197:Trees / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins; C061312:Bet v 1 allergen, Betula