Identification and purification of a 16-kDa allergen from Psoroptes ovis (Acarina : Psoroptidae)

Psoroptes ovis, (Hering), the sheep scab mite, is the causative agent of an allergic dermatitis of sheep and cattle. Recent studies of the host immune response to this ectoparasite have provided information that suggests cont rol may be achieved by immune intervention. A significant effector in prote ction of the host from clinical lesions is host behavioral grooming. Host g rooming is believed to be intensified by a pruritic immediate hypersensitiv ity response to mite allergens. Knowledge of potential P. ovis allergens is limited. This article reports on the identification and SDS-PAGE continuou s elution purification of a 16-kDa polypeptide that elicits immediate type hypersensitivity in calves and has sequence homology with known group II mi te allergens, Lep, d 2 of Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank), and Der fII o f Dermatophagoides farinae (Hughes). This P. ovis allergen appeals to be a good vaccine candidate for further study and cloning.