title: Multiple IgE recognition on the major allergen of the Parietaria pollen Par j 2.
abstract: The interaction between IgE antibodies and allergens is a key event in triggering an allergic reaction. The characterization of this region provides information of paramount importance for diagnosis and therapy. Par j 2 Lipid Transfer Protein is one of the most important allergens in southern Europe and a well-established marker of sensitization in Parietaria pollen allergy. The main aim of this study was to map the IgE binding regions of this allergen and to study the pattern of reactivity of individual Parietaria-allergic patients. By means of gene fragmentation, six overlapping peptides were expressed in Escherichia coli, and their IgE binding activity was evaluated by immunoblotting in a cohort of 79 Parietaria-allergic patients. Our results showed that Pj-allergic patients display a heterogeneous pattern of IgE binding to the different recombinant fragments, and that patients reacted simultaneously against several protein domains spread all the over the molecule, even in fragments which do not contain structural features resembling the native allergen. Our results reveal the presence of a large number of linear and conformational epitopes on the Par j 2 sequence, which probably explains the high allergenic activity of this allergen.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy" del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biofisica del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (UOS Palermo), Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Assunta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy" del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cibella
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy" del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cuttitta
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy" del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: La Grutta
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy" del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.colombo@ibim.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colombo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002648:Child; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D032403:Parietaria / Q000737:chemistry*; D011058:Pollen / Q000737:chemistry*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D000939:Epitopes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D007073:Immunoglobulin E
keywords: Epitope mapping; IgE; Molecular biology; Parietaria