Abstract
Asp f 2, a 268 amino acid major allergen from Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) demonstrated nine linear IgE binding regions. It is not known whether any of these linear epitopes are also conformatory epitopes. Hence, we constructed deletion mutants of Asp f 2 devoid of one or more epitopes, and the IgE binding of these proteins with sera from patients with ABPA was compared with the full-length Asp f 2 expressed in E. coli and Pichia. The Pichia expressed protein reacted weakly with IgE, but strongly with IgG of ABPA sera compared to E. coli expressed Asp f 2. Weak IgE binding only was seen when the C-terminal or N-terminal was deleted, while depletion of both ends negated all reactivity. The monoclonal antibody IL-B8 and IgE and IgG of ABPA sera bound significantly to the Asp f 2 E-4 fragment indicating that the major B-cell epitope is located at the N-terminal end of Asp f 2. (C) 2000 Academic Press.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1128-1135 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications |
Volume | 270 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 21 2000 |
Funding
This investigation was supported by NIH Grant AI42349 and by Veterans Affairs Medical Research and the Ernest S. Bazley Grant to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University. The technical assistance of Laura Castillo and Nancy Elms and the editorial assistance of Donna Schrubbe are gratefully acknowledged.
Keywords
- Asp f 2
- Aspergillus fumigatus
- Deletion mutants
- IgE
- Immune response
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology