title: Comparison of the immunogenicity of wasp venom peptides with or without carbohydrate moieties.
abstract: Three synthetic vespulakinin analogues either with or without carbohydrate moieties and mastoparan B isolated from Vespa basalis venom were investigated for their immunogenic activity and solution conformation. Mice immunized with these wasp venom peptides, with the exception of (Gal alpha)Thr3, (Gal alpha)Thr4-vespulakinin 1, showed positive antibody responses. However, the response elicited by mastoparan B was much higher than those induced by vespulakinin analogues. The class of antibody induced by these peptides was identified as an IgG1 isotype with kappa-light chain, suggesting stimulation of a T-cell-dependent immune response by these peptides. According to the circular dichroism spectra of these peptides, the structures of the vespulakinin analogues in solution were largely unordered, while mastoparan B exhibited a conformation rich in alpha-helices. The presence of carbohydrate moieties and the rather random structure in vespulakinins may interfere with T-cell recognition of the peptides, leading to lower immune responses.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rocchi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Piek
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis*; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology*; D014862:Wasp Venoms / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D002241:Carbohydrates; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D014862:Wasp Venoms; C081223:mastoparan B