Immunobiochemical Characterization of <i>Brassica campestri</i><i>s</i> Pollen Allergen

Abstract

Brαssica campestris (BC), Eng. Mustard, is an important source of pollen allergen, responsible for type I hypersensitivity disorders. In the present study, BC pollen extract was characterized by TLIEF, SDS-PAGE and immunoprinting. The extract separated into 50 silver stained bands of pi 3-9 on isoelectric focusing whereas it resolved into 14 Coomassie blue stained protein bands of 14–100 kD on SDS-PAGE. Immunoblot analysis with individual patient sera detected four allergenic proteins of 90, 67, 60 and 14 kD. BC separated into 8 peaks (Bras 1–8) on DEAE Sephadex A-50 column. Bras 2 was found to be most potent by IgE specific ELISA, hence further fractionated on Sephadex G-200. A protein of 90 kD (Bras 2a) isolated by gel filtration was found to be most allergenic protein by ELISA inhibition. The findings shall be applicable in standardization of future batches of BC pollen extract to be used for allergy diagnosis and immunotherapy.

Hypersensitivity to pollen of four different species of Brassica : a clinico-immunologic evaluation in patients of respiratory allergy in India

“…In an earlier study, Singh et al [23] reported only 4 protein fractions as IgE binding as compared to 10 IgE binding fractions in our study with pollen of B. campestris . This difference might be caused by the use of very different protein extraction and by the use of pollen from commercial sources, corresponding to undetermined cultivars.…”

“…Lower cultivation leading to low airborne pollen suspected to cause lower sensitization might explain this variability. Focke et al [19] also indicated that allergen profiles seem to be similar among pollen of Brassica species as comparable allergens were described by them in B. napus and by Singh et al [23] in B. campestris . There is a need to rule out number of protein fractions showing IgE binding to all four species for the glycoprotein suspected to be cross reactive protein [24] in some cases.…”

Total serum immunoglobulin E levels in a case–control study in asthmatic/allergic patients, their family members, and healthy subjects from India

“…We observed high skin reactivity to pollen antigens of Prosopis juliflora and Brassica campestris in skin test. Allergenically important pollen allergens reported earlier from India also include Prosopis juliflora and Brassica campestris [8, 34, 35]. Among fungal allergens, Alternaria alternata and Cladosporium herbarum are very important sensitizers in India [34].…”

Molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding a pollen extracellular protein as a potential source of a pollen allergen in Brassica rapa

“…Pollen coat proteins are a potential source of pollen allergens for humans. Allergy to Brassica pollen has been reported in some countries [12–14]. There has been only one report of the isolation of cDNA for a Brassica pollen allergen.…”