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Engineering of the major house dust mite allergen Der f 2 for allergen-specific immunotherapy

Nature Biotechnology volume 15, pages 754–758 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

A major problem with allergen-specific immunotherapy involving repeated injections of allergens is the risk of an anaphylactic reaction. We engineered the major house dust mite allergen, Der f 2, to reduce its capacity to induce skin test reactivity and histamine release from peripheral blood basophils in allergic patients. The engineered allergen, in which the disulfide bond that linked the N- and C-terminal sequences of Der f 2 was disrupted, retained T-cell epitopes essential for immunotherapy and ability to stimulate T-cell proliferation. Such engineered allergens are potentially useful for safer and more effective immunotherapy for allergies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biosience Research and Development Laboratory, Asahi Breweries, Ltd., 1-1-21 Midori, Moriya-cho, Kita-sohma-gun, Ibaraki, 302-01, Japan

    Toshiro Takai, Toyokazu Yokota, Masaaki Yasue, Chiharu Nishiyama, Toshifumi Yuuki & Yasushi Okumura

  2. Department of Medicine and Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113, Japan

    Akio Mori & Hirokazu Okudaira

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  1. Toshiro Takai
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Correspondence to Toshiro Takai.

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Takai, T., Yokota, T., Yasue, M. et al. Engineering of the major house dust mite allergen Der f 2 for allergen-specific immunotherapy. Nat Biotechnol 15, 754–758 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0897-754

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