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Allergenicity of recombinant Bla g 7, German cockroach tropomyosin
Author(s) -
Jeong K. Y.,
Lee J.,
Lee I.Y.,
Ree H.I.,
Hong C.S.,
Yong T.S.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.363
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1398-9995
pISSN - 0105-4538
DOI - 10.1034/j.1398-9995.2003.00167.x
Subject(s) - german cockroach , recombinant dna , cockroach , tropomyosin , biology , allergen , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , allergy , immunology , gene , actin , ecology
Background: Cockroach infestation may sensitize and elicit allergic responses to genetically predisposed individuals. Invertebrate tropomyosins are a frequent cause of allergy and highly cross‐reactive in nature. In this study, we aimed to produce recombinant German cockroach tropomyosin and investigate its allergenicity. Methods: German cockroach tropomyosin (Bla g 7) was cloned by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The cloned cDNA was over‐expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography using Ni‐nitrilotriacetic (NTA) acid resin. The allergenicity of the recombinant tropomyosin was examined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The cloned Bla g 7 shared up to 91% amino acid sequence identity with other cockroach tropomyosins. ELISA showed a recombinant Bla g 7 sensitization rate of 16.2% to German cockroach allergic sera. Recombinant tropomyosin was able to inhibit 32.4% of the specific IgE binding to cockroach extract. Conclusions: Tropomyosin represents a minor allergen in cockroach extracts. It is hoped that recombinant tropomyosin will be useful for further studies and clinical applications.