anti-Alt a 1 (Alternaria alternata), pAb

Mold allergies affect from 3% to 40% of the human population, and this level changes depending on the country, region, sex, age and other factors. So far, 78 allergens isolated from 18 mold species have been characterized in terms of chemical structure, nucleotide sequence and cellular function. These 18 species belong to the following genera: Alternaria, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Curvularia, Epicoccum, Stachybotrys and Trichophyton. Previous work found that Alternaria alternata is the most allergenic species amongst those studied to date. The major allergen produced by Alternaria alternata is the glycoprotein Alt a 1, which has a molecular weight of 30 kDa (dimer). This glycoprotein migrates as two separate bands of 16.4 and 15.3 kDa under reducing conditions on SDS-PAGE, suggesting that the monomers are linked by a disulfide bond. Alt a 1 is detected in the cytoplasm of mold spores and mycelia. Alt a 1 leads to IgE-mediated hypersensitivity in more than 95% of Alternaria-sensitized patients.