title: Common IgE-epitopes of recombinant Phl p I, the major timothy grass pollen allergen and natural group I grass pollen isoallergens.
abstract: Grass pollen allergens are potent elicitors of Type I allergy. More than 95% of grass pollen allergic patients display IgE-cross-reactivity to group I grass pollen allergens of different grass species. A cDNA coding for the major timothy grass pollen allergen, Phl p I, was isolated previously. To investigate the presence of common IgE-epitopes among naturally occurring group I grass pollen isoallergens, Phl p I was expressed in Escherichia coli and used for IgE-absorption experiments. Recombinant Phl p I was able to inhibit IgE-binding to most of group I isoallergens from seven grass species as identified by two dimensional electrophoresis. When tested in competitive ELISA experiments, recombinant Phl p I bound a high percentage of grass pollen specific IgE. The results indicate that recombinant Phl p I shares many of the IgE-epitopes with natural group I grass pollen allergens and hence may represent a useful tool for specific diagnosis and therapy of grass pollen allergy.
authors.affiliation: Institute of General and Experimental Pathology, AKH, University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laffer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duchene
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Reimitzer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Susani
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mannhalter
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kraft
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Valenta
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D000939:Epitopes; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C090396:PHLPI protein, Phleum pratense; D007073:Immunoglobulin E