Purification, amino acid sequence and immunological characterization of Ole e 6, a cysteine-enriched allergen from olive tree pollen

The Ole e 6 allergen from olive tree pollen has been isolated by combining gel permeation and reverse-phase chromatographies, It is a single and highly acidic (pI 4.2) polypeptide chain protein, Its NH2-terminal amino acid sequence has been determined by Edman degradation, Total RNA from the olive tree pollen was isolated, and a specific cDNA was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction using a degenerate oligonucleotide primer designed according to the NH2-terminal sequence of the protein, The nucleotide sequencing of the cDNA rendered an open reading frame encoding a 50 amino acid polypeptide chain, in which two sets of the sequential motif Cys-X-3-Cys-X-3-Cys are present, No sequence similarity has been found between this protein and other previously described polypeptides. (C) 1997 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.