Background Millions of patients with allergy to tree pollen are sensitized to the major allergen of birch (Betula verrucosa) pollen, Bet v 1. Bet v 1-specific IgE cross-reacts with Bet v 1-homologous proteins from plant foods. Only little information on functional IgE epitopes of Bet v 1 and Bet v 1-like allergens in foods is available. We sought to generate a synthetic protein tool to identify...

Background Birch pollen-allergic subjects often develop Bet v 1-specific IgE that cross-reacts with homologous food allergens. Bet v 1 and its homologs in pollen and food display exclusively conformational epitopes. We established a system to specifically analyze epitope cross-reactivity of Bet v 1-related allergens. The enzyme norcoclaurine synthase (NCS) from Thalictrum flavum is structurally...

BACKGROUND Vaccines consisting of allergen-derived peptides lacking IgE reactivity and allergen-specific T cell epitopes bound to allergen-unrelated carrier molecules have been suggested as candidates for allergen-specific immunotherapy. OBJECTIVE To study whether prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination with carrier-bound peptides from the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 lacking allergen...

The protein Bet v 1 represents the main cause for allergic reactions to birch pollen in Europe and North America. Structurally homologous isoforms of Bet v 1 can have different properties regarding allergic sensitization and Th2 polarization, most likely due to differential susceptibility to proteolytic cleavage. Using NMR relaxation experiments and molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrat...

Counterregulating the disease-eliciting Th2-like immune response of allergen-specific Th lymphocytes by fostering an allergen-specific Th1-like response is a promising concept for future immunotherapy of type I allergy. The use of recombinant allergens combined with more functional adjuvants has been proposed. In this respect, we present a novel approach. The gene sequence encoding the major bi...

BACKGROUND Characterization of IgE-binding epitopes of allergens and determination of their patient-specific relevance is crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of allergy. OBJECTIVE We sought to assess the contribution of specific surface areas of the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1.0101 to binding IgE of individual patients. METHODS Four distinct areas of Bet v 1 representing in tota...