title: N-terminus of a major allergen, Alt a I, of Alternaria alternata defined to be an epitope.
abstract: A 20mer peptide representing the N-terminus of a major allergen, Alt a I, of Alternaria alternata was synthesized and examined for its antibody binding and antibody induction activities. Alt a I peptide-BSA conjugate reacted with both human IgE and rabbit anti-Alt a I IgG in ELISA, albeit the binding of the peptide to IgE was relatively weak. Control conjugate showed no antibody binding. These results indicated that the N-terminus of Alt a I is an antibody binding site. Moreover, peptide-KLH conjugate and nonconjugated peptide induced both IgG and IgE antibodies in Balb/c mice that recognized both native Alt a I allergen and peptide-BSA conjugate. Since the free peptide was able to induce antibodies in vivo, the peptide may also possess a T cell epitope.
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Division, Bureau of Drug Research, Health Protection Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Curran
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Muradia
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: De Vouge
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rode
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Vijay
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D000528:Alternaria / Q000276:immunology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: C096258:ALTA1 protein, Alternaria alternata; D000485:Allergens; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D000939:Epitopes; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D010455:Peptides