Mr. Rosenbaum et al., EFFECTS OF MOLD PROTEASES ON THE BIOLOGICAL-ACTIVITY OF ALLERGENIC POLLEN EXTRACTS, American journal of veterinary research, 57(10), 1996, pp. 1447-1452
Objective-To determine the effect of mold extracts with high protease
activity on the biological activity of allergenic tree, grass, and wee
d extracts, using in vivo and in vitro methods, in atopic dogs. Animal
s-15 dogs with history and clinical signs of atopy. AII dogs had stron
g positive reactions (3+ or 4+) to 1 or more preselected allergens and
negative reactions (0) to molds. Procedure-Mold extracts and saline s
olution were coincubated separately with tree, grass, and weed pollen
extracts at 4 C for 30 and 180 days. Skin end-point titration (30-day
incubation) and ELISA inhibition (30- and 180-day incubations) tests w
ere performed on ail samples. The biological activity of pollen extrac
ts coincubated with mold extracts was compared with that of pollen ext
racts coincubated with saline solution. Results-In the skin end-point
titration test, weed pollen extracts coincubated with a mixed mold ext
ract lost a statistically significant amount of biological activity, c
ompared with saline coincubated controls. In the ELISA inhibition test
, grass and weed pollen extracts incubated with a mixed mold extract l
ost a significant amount of biological activity, compared with saline
coincubated controls. A significant correlation in the measurement of
biological activity was found between a loss of end-point dilution in
the skin end-point titration test and a decrease in relative potency,
as measured by the ELISA inhibition lest for allergenic grass and weed
extracts. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance-Mold proteases can decrea
se the biological activity of certain grass and weed pollen extracts w
hen coincubated in the same vial for 30 days. Separation of mold and p
ollen extracts, when preparing immunotherapy vaccines, may help preven
t loss of pollen extract potency and increase the vaccine's stability
and efficacy.