Je. Slater et al., IDENTIFICATION, CLONING, AND SEQUENCE OF A MAJOR ALLERGEN (HEV-B-5) FROM NATURAL-RUBBER LATEX (HEVEA-BRASILIENSIS), The Journal of biological chemistry, 271(41), 1996, pp. 25394-25399
Proteins in commercial latex products, derived from the rubber tree He
vea brasiliensis, cause anaphylaxis in susceptible individuals, especi
ally health care workers and children with spina bifida. To identify l
atex allergens, we utilized IgE from the serum of a latex-allergic hea
lth care worker to screen a cDNA Library from Hevea latex. The identif
ied cDNA clone, cDNA Hev b 5, encodes an open reading frame of 163 pep
tide residues. Hybridization analysis of cDNA Hev b 5 with RNA extract
ed from Hevea tissue indicates that the full-length transcript is abou
t 1000 bases. The nucleotide and deduced protein sequences have signif
icant homology to sequences from kiwi and potato, which are known to c
ause allergic reactions in some latex-allergic patients. Fifty-six per
cent of spina bifida patients and 924 of health care workers with late
x allergy have IgE specific to the protein encoded by cDNA Rev b 5. A
monoclonal antibody raised from a mouse immunized with Hev b 5 binds t
o a protein in Hevea latex with an M(r) identical to that of the expre
ssed and cleaved recombinant protein. Taken together, these results es
tablish that the antigen Hev b 5 contains a major epitope for IgE-medi
ated reactions to H. brasiliensis latex products.