Use of phage display technology to investigate allergen-antibody interactions

Phage display is an advanced technology that can be used to characterize th e interactions of antibody with antigen at the molecular level, It provides valuable data when applied to the investigation of IgE interaction with al lergens. The aim of this rostrum article is to provide an explanation of th e potential of phage display for increasing the understanding of allergen-I gE interaction, the discovery of diagnostic reagents, and the development o f novel therapeutics for the treatment of allergic disease. The significanc e of initial studies that have applied phage display technology in allergy research will be highlighted. Phage display has been used to clone human Ig E to timothy grass pollen allergen Phl p 5, to characterize the epitopes fo r murine and human antibodies to a birch pollen allergen Bet v 1, and to el ucidate the epitopes of a murine mAb to the house dust mite allergen Der p 1, The technology has identified peptides that functionally mimic sites of human IgE constant domains and that were used to raise antiserum for blocki ng binding of IgE to the Fc epsilon RI on basophils and subsequent release of histamine. Phage display has also been used to characterize novel peanut and fungal allergens, The method has been used to increase our understandi ng of the molecular basis of allergen-IgE interactions and to develop clini cally relevant reagents with the pharmacologic potential to block the effec tor phase of allergic reactions. Many advances from these early studies are likely as phage display technology evolves and allergists gain expertise i n its research applications.