title: Toward elucidating the full spectrum of mite allergens--state of the art.
abstract: Our research has focused on the molecular design of immunotherapeutic vaccines and the advancement of mite-allergy diagnosis. Here, we describe the research history of the major group 1 and group 2 allergens, immunoelectrophoretic analyses covering the complete spectrum of mite allergens, our results on allergens with distinctive characteristics (a conjunctival congestion-eliciting antigen [LM2], an immunotherapeutic antigen [HM2] with high efficacy and without definite adverse reactions, and a potent T-cell stimulatory antigen [HM1] with secretion of IFN-gamma), the full spectrum and immunochemical properties of the major and other important mite allergens (including our newly described allergens: a pan-allergen [tropomyosin, group 10], a potent T-cell stimulatory allergen [M-177, apolipophorin, group 14] and its peptide fragments Mag1 and Mag3, a moderate IgE-binding allergen [gelsolin/villin, group 16], an EF-hand Ca2+-binding allergen [group 17], and a less IgE-binding allergen [heat shock protein 70]), and prospects for the development of immunotherapeutic and diagnostic agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8530, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
authors.forename: Tsunehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aki
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Airo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tategaki
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujimura
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsuboi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katsutani
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Seiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shigeta
authors.forename: Yoshikatsu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murooka
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ono