G. Reese et al., The IgE-binding regions of the major allergen Pen a 1: Multiple epitopes or intramolecular cross-reactivity?, INT A AL IM, 124(1-3), 2001, pp. 103-106
The muscle protein tropomyosin is the major allergen (Pen a 1) in brown shr
imp, Penaeus aztecus, lobster, crab, mollusks and other invertebrates such
as house dust mite, and cockroach. Pen a 1 contains five major IgE-binding
regions, and sequences that are rarely or never recognized by IgE antibodie
s from shrimp-allergic subjects. The molecular structure of tropomyosins is
simple and repetitive; it is made up of multiple heptad repeats. The analy
sis of sequence identities and similarities of major, minor and non-IgE-bin
ding regions indicate that intramolecular cross-reactivity to the multiple
IgE-binding regions of Pen a 1 is not due to repetitive, identical or simil
ar, cross-reacting sequences but due to multiple, independent epitopes. How
ever, an allergenic motif may explain the reactivities to the five identifi
ed major IgE-binding regions. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.