Variability of Antigenicity/Allergenicity in Different Strains of <i>Alternaria alternata</i>

Abstract

Biochemical and immunological properties were studied in crude mould extracts from 10 different strains of Alternaria alternata. The mould strains were grown on completely synthetic medium and harvested under identical conditions. The biochemical and immunological analyses (protein content, carbohydrate content, IEF, RAST-inhibition, CIE/CRIE and the content of a major allergen) showed significant variations between the individual strains of A. alternata. 32 antigens were identified in the CIE pattern of A. alternata and 19 different allergens were identified in CRIE analysis (1 major, 7 intermediate and 6 minor allergens). There was a significant variation in the content of the major A. alternata allergen (Ag-8, partially identical to Alt-I) between the different individual strains. Furthermore, a considerable variation in the content of Ag-8 was observed for a specific strain cultivated at different occasions under identical cultivation conditions during a time period of 3 years.

Comparison of Conidial and Mycelial Allergens of <i>Alternaria alternata</i>

“…On the other hand CRIE with Alternaría extracts reveals be tween 3 and 19 allergens [7,8,10,15,17]. Conse quently Western blotting appears a more sensitive technique than CRIE for the identification of Alter naría allergens.…”

“…However, commercial extracts used for diagnosis are prepared from mycelium with little or no spores present and most studies on Alter naría allergens were made with commercial extracts or extracts prepared from the mycelial form [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Among the studies where spore preparations were used [18][19][20][21], Solomon et al [18] and Hoffman et al [19] found that more patients had positive skintest reactions with spore than with mycelium extracts.…”

Variability of Allergenicity in Eight Strains of the Green Algal Genus <i>Chlorella</i>

“…In general, protein and carbohydrate values vary between different allergen extracts and this effect is especially pronounced for mould strains [Wallenbeck et al, 1984;Steringer et al, 1987],…”

Immunological Studies of the Glycoprotein Allergen Ag-54 (Cla h II) in <i>Cladosporium herbarum</i> with Special Attention to the Carbohydrate and Protein Moieties

“…To ensure that the allergenic activity of the carbohydrate moiety had not been destroyed as a re sult of the chemical treatment during the isolation process, carbohydrate-rich glycopeptides resulting from extensive proteolytic treatment of the Ag-54 molecule were also tested for allergenic activity, but specific IgE antibodies to the carbohydrate could not be found. Though several patient sera were tested, the existence of C. herbarum-a\\erg\c patients who react to the Ag-54 carbohydrate moiety cannot be excluded since individuals with mould allergy seem to be a very heterogeneous group in their reaction towards the dif ferent allergenic components [4,33,34]. However, the data presented in this study indicate that the carbohy drate moiety of Ag-54 is not responsible in general for the IgE-binding ability of the allergen molecule.…”