MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF DOG ALBUMIN AS A CROSS-REACTIVE ALLERGEN

Indoor allergens comprise a group of allergenic proteins that are commonly derived from house dust mite and cat and dog dander. In addition to the two major dog allergens (molecular weights: 19 and 23 kd), dog albumin represents an important allergen for up to 35% of patients who are allergic to dogs. In IgE immunoblot inhibition studies and histamine release tests it has been demonstrated that patients who react to dog albumin exhibit IgE reactivity with purified albumins from cat, mouse, chicken, and rat. The proportion of dog-specific IgE directed against dog albumin was determined for patients allergic to dog albumin, and it ranges from 70% to 90%. By IgE immunoscreening of a lambda gt11 expression library from a dog salivary gland, we identified a number of reactive complementary DNA clones. All patients with IgE reactivity against natural dog albumin displayed IgE reactivity to the beta-galactosidase fusion protein encoded by clone 54c, which was therefore assumed to contain major IgE epitopes of dog albumin. The deduced amino acid sequence of clone 54c was compared with the Swiss-Prot library and significant sequence homologies were found with albumins from different species (human: 82.6%, pig. 81.8%, cattle: 77.3%, sheep: 78.8%, mouse. 75.8%, and rat: 76.2%). Several other IgE-positive clones hybridized with oligonucleotides that were prepared according to this sequence. Partial complementary DNA coding for dog albumin fragments may be considered a useful tool for further characterization of major IgE epitopes of dog albumin.