title: T cell epitopes of a lipocalin allergen colocalize with the conserved regions of the molecule.
abstract: In this study we characterized the human T cell-reactive sites of the major cow dander allergen, Bos d 2, a member of the lipocalin protein family. We showed that Bos d 2 contains only a limited number of epitopes. This is in contrast to many other allergens, which usually contain multiple T cell epitopes throughout the molecule. The epitopes of Bos d 2 were primarily concentrated in the conserved regions of the molecule. One of the epitopes was recognized by all the cow-asthmatic individuals regardless of their HLA phenotype. Computer-predicted T cell epitopes on Bos d 2, other lipocalin allergens, and human endogenous lipocalins were situated in similar locations on these molecules and corresponded to experimentally identified epitopes on Bos d 2. The results suggest that human endogenous lipocalins could be involved in the modulation of immune responses against exogenous lipocalin allergens. In addition, our findings are likely to facilitate the development of new forms of immunotherapy against allergies induced by the important group of lipocalin allergens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland. Thomas.Zeller@uku.fi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zeiler
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mäntyjärvi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rautiainen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rytkönen-Nissinen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vilja
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taivainen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kauppinen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Virtanen
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D002417:Cattle; D002999:Clone Cells; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*