title: Major venom allergen of yellow jackets, Ves v 5: structural characterization of a pathogenesis-related protein superfamily.
abstract: Ves v 5 is one of three major allergens found in yellow-jacket venom: phospholipase A(1) (Ves v 1), hyaluronidase (Ves v 2), and antigen 5 (Ves v 5). Ves v 5 is related by high amino acid sequence identity to pathogenesis-related proteins including proteins from mammals, reptiles, insects, fungi, and plants. The crystal structure of Ves v 5 has been solved and refined to a resolution of 1.9 A. The majority of residues conserved between the pathogenesis-related proteins can be rationalized in terms of hydrogen bonding patterns and hydrophobic interactions defining an alpha-beta-alpha sandwich core structure. A small number of consensus residues are solvent exposed (including two adjacent histidines) and located in an elongated cavity that forms a putative active site. The site has no structural resemblance to previously characterized enzymes. Homologous antigen 5's from a large number of different yellow jackets, hornets, and paper wasps are known and patients show varying extents of cross-reactivity to the related antigen 5's. The structure of Ves v 5 allows a detailed analysis of the epitopes that may participate in antigenic cross-reactivity, findings that are useful for the development of a vaccine for treatment of insect allergy.
authors.affiliation: Protein Structure Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. anette@crc.dk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Henriksen
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mirza
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Monsalve
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Meno
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ipsen
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gajhede
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Spangfort
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014862:Wasp Venoms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D014863:Wasps / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; C431905:Ves v 5 allergen; D014862:Wasp Venoms