THE SPECTRUM OF LOW-MOLECULAR WEIGHT HOUSE DUST MITE (DERMATOPHAGOIDES-PTERONYSSINUS) ALLERGENS WITH EMPHASIS ON DER-P-II

Analysis by protein blotting of sera from 96 different house dust mite‐allergic subjects revealed previously unrecognized complexity of low molecular weight (MW) (< 20 kD) IgE‐binding proteins in extracts of whole bodies of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. Of 11 different IgE‐binding components of MW < 20 kD identified, two (MW ∼ 16 kD and ∼ 15 kD), showed both a high frequency (88% and 49% respectively) and a high intensity of IgE‐binding. The ∼ 16 kD component, identified as allergen Der p II, showed the highest frequency of IgE antibody reactivity of any of the major D. pteronyssinus allergens including Der p I and Der p III. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved