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PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ALLERGENS IN EXTRACTS OF STACHYBOTRYS CHARTARUM
Citation:
Viana, M. E., MJK Selgrade, AND MDW Ward. PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ALLERGENS IN EXTRACTS OF STACHYBOTRYS CHARTARUM. Presented at Society of Toxicology 42nd Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 9-13, 2003.
Description:
PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ALLERGENS IN EXTRACTS OF Stachybotrys chartarum. M E Viana1, MJ Selgrade2, and M D Ward2. 1NCSU, Raleigh, NC, USA. 2NHEERL, ORD, US EPA, RTP, NC, USA.
Exposure to Stachybotrys chartarum has been associated with the development of serious health problems in humans, including asthma. Previous studies in this laboratory demonstrated respiratory exposure to an extract of a pool of 5 S. chartarum isolates caused inflammatory and allergic biochemical, immunological, and physiological responses similar to those observed in human allergic asthma. The goal of the present study was to characterize the major allergens responsible for the observed immune responses. Five isolates of S. chartarum obtained from wallboards in water-damaged houses were grown and combined in approximately equal weight amounts, extracted using Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) + Tween-80, and filter sterilized to form a crude antigen preparation (SCE-1). A hyperimmune serum was generated by injecting female BALB/C mice with a 25 g dose of SCE-1 in alhydrogel adjuvant, followed by additional 15 g doses of SCE-1 in HBSS at 21 and 35 days. Five days after the 3rd dose, the mice were exsanguinated by cardiac puncture. The resulting serum was used to probe western blots of individual S. chartarum isolates, using an anti-IgE secondary antibody to visualize the major IgE-positive antigens. Four bands with approximate molecular weights of 88,200, 78,100, 65,000, and 62,500 Daltons were observed in all the extracts. Additionally, several minor bands of varying molecular weight were observed in the individual extracts, suggesting that the different isolates differ in their overall antigen profile. (Supported by NCSU/EPA Cooperative Training Agreement CT826512010.) (This abstract does not reflect EPA policy.)