You are here:
PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS OF ALLERGENS FROM METARHIZIUM ANISOPLIEA
Citation:
Donohue, M. J. PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS OF ALLERGENS FROM METARHIZIUM ANISOPLIEA. Presented at NHEERL Presentation on Proteomics, Research Triangle Park, NC, July 22, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
To understand children's risks from exposure to molds in their environment and to explore risk management options for mitigating those risks.
Description:
The goal of this project is the identification and characterization of allergens from the fungus M. Anisopliae, using mass spectrometry (MS). The US EPA, under the "Children at Risk" program, is currently addressing the problem of indoor fungal bioaerosol contamination. One of the research objectives is to develop a basic understanding of IgE inducing proteins from fungi, using advanced proteomic. The Fungus M. Anisopliae has been used as a bio-pesticide for insect control sijnce the 1800's . Recent studies have shown that exposure to this micro-organism can cause an immediate hyper-immunosensitivity or Type I allergenic rsponse. Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of=flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) were used to analyze the fungal peptides and proteins isolated by 2-D gel electrophoresis and immuno-blot analysis. The MS data on molecular weight, peptide profiles, and amino acid sequence or domain homology to known allergens. This information could lead to the identification of the M. Anisopliae proteins that induce IgE responses, eventually paving the way to prevention or treatment of allergies.