TY - JOUR
T1 - The allergens of Epicoccum nigrum link. I. Identification of the allergens by immunoblotting
AU - Dixit, Anu B.
AU - Lewis, Walter H.
AU - Wedner, H. James
N1 - Funding Information:
From the Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, and the Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. Presented in part at the Forty-seventh Annual Meeting of the Amer-ican Academy of Allergy and Immunology, San Francisco, March 1-6, 1991. Received tot publication July 19, 1991. Revised Feb. 4, 1992. Accepted for publication Feb. 7, 1992. Reprint requests: H. James Wedner, MD, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Ave., Box 8122, St. Louis, MO 63110. *Dr. Dixit is a Fellow supported by National Institute of Health Research Service Award AI08042, and by a grant from the Amer-ican Academy of Allergy and Immunology. 1/1/37049
PY - 1992/7
Y1 - 1992/7
N2 - Two atmospheric isolates of Epicoccum nigrum (EN) were grown under sporulation conditions. Dialyzed extracts of spores, (>95% pure) and pure mycelia were used for skin testing, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and immunoblotting. By skin testing, 49 of the 126 atopic patients were found to be sensitive to EN in St. Louis, Mo., and Corpus Christi, Texas, combined. On immunoblotting, which was performed on 17 sera, 44 bands (12.3 to 119.0 kd) were detected; six were unique to spore, four were unique to mycelium, and 34 were common to both. No single band bound IgE from all sera. The most frequent band corresponding to 42 kd occurred in 11 sera. Five other bands were recognized by more than one half, whereas the remainder bound fewer sera. All skin test-positive patients had positive immunoblots; the number of bands recognized varied from three to 25. Spore or mycelium-specific, as well as common bands were recognized by 13 of 17 sera. Two sera recognized only spore and mycelium-specific bands. Only spore-specific bands were bound by two sera. No strain differences were detected. The binding patterns were comparable in the sera from both St. Louis, Mo., and Corpus Christi, Texas. These data suggest that EN is a significant allergen in urban communities. Allergenic proteins occur in both spore and mycelium, suggesting that both must be included in the reagents for skin testing and immunotherapy.
AB - Two atmospheric isolates of Epicoccum nigrum (EN) were grown under sporulation conditions. Dialyzed extracts of spores, (>95% pure) and pure mycelia were used for skin testing, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and immunoblotting. By skin testing, 49 of the 126 atopic patients were found to be sensitive to EN in St. Louis, Mo., and Corpus Christi, Texas, combined. On immunoblotting, which was performed on 17 sera, 44 bands (12.3 to 119.0 kd) were detected; six were unique to spore, four were unique to mycelium, and 34 were common to both. No single band bound IgE from all sera. The most frequent band corresponding to 42 kd occurred in 11 sera. Five other bands were recognized by more than one half, whereas the remainder bound fewer sera. All skin test-positive patients had positive immunoblots; the number of bands recognized varied from three to 25. Spore or mycelium-specific, as well as common bands were recognized by 13 of 17 sera. Two sera recognized only spore and mycelium-specific bands. Only spore-specific bands were bound by two sera. No strain differences were detected. The binding patterns were comparable in the sera from both St. Louis, Mo., and Corpus Christi, Texas. These data suggest that EN is a significant allergen in urban communities. Allergenic proteins occur in both spore and mycelium, suggesting that both must be included in the reagents for skin testing and immunotherapy.
KW - Epicoccum nigrum
KW - IgE binding
KW - SDS-PAGE
KW - allergy
KW - atmospheric isolates
KW - immunoblotting
KW - mold growth
KW - mycelium
KW - skin testing
KW - spore
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0026664207&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0091-6749(06)80006-0
DO - 10.1016/S0091-6749(06)80006-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 1629496
AN - SCOPUS:0026664207
SN - 0091-6749
VL - 90
SP - 11
EP - 20
JO - The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
JF - The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
IS - 1
ER -