PMID- 11818327
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20020401
LR  - 20091119
IS  - 1073-449X (Print)
IS  - 1073-449X (Linking)
VI  - 165
IP  - 3
DP  - 2002 Feb 1
TI  - Cockroach allergen Bla g 2: structure, function, and implications for allergic 
      sensitization.
PG  - 391-7
AB  - Exposure to German cockroach (Blattella germanica) allergens is associated with 
      the development of chronic respiratory diseases, especially asthma. The mechanism 
      by which allergic patients develop specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) responses to 
      environmental allergens is unknown. However, recent reports provided evidence 
      that enzyme activity, especially proteolytic activity, was a major contributor to 
      allergenicity. Bla g 2 is one of the most potent cockroach allergens (prevalence 
      of IgE responses of 60 to 80%) and shows homology to the aspartic proteinase 
      family of enzymes. We investigated whether the allergenicity of Bla g 2 was 
      linked to its putative enzymatic function. A molecular model of Bla g 2, based on 
      the high resolution crystal structures of pepsin and chymosin, showed that the 
      overall three-dimensional structure of Bla g 2 was similar to that of aspartic 
      proteinases with a well-defined binding pocket. However, critical amino acid 
      substitutions in the catalytic triads and in the "flap" region of the molecule 
      suggested that Bla g 2 was inactive and homologous to mammalian 
      pregnancy-associated glycoproteins. This was confirmed experimentally by enzyme 
      assay. The results show dissociation between enzymatic activity and allergenicity 
      for Bla g 2 and suggest that other genetic and environmental factors are 
      important determinants of sensitization.
FAU - Pomes, Anna
AU  - Pomes A
AD  - Asthma and Allergic Diseases Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University 
      of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, USA. apomes@inbio.com
FAU - Chapman, Martin D
AU  - Chapman MD
FAU - Vailes, Lisa D
AU  - Vailes LD
FAU - Blundell, Tom L
AU  - Blundell TL
FAU - Dhanaraj, Venugopal
AU  - Dhanaraj V
LA  - eng
SI  - GENBANK/AF220040
GR  - AI 32557/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States
GR  - AI 34601/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PL  - United States
TA  - Am J Respir Crit Care Med
JT  - American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
JID - 9421642
RN  - EC 3.4.23.- (Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases)
RN  - EC 3.4.23.- (allergen Bla g 2)
SB  - IM
MH  - Amino Acid Sequence
MH  - Animals
MH  - Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases/*immunology
MH  - Cockroaches/*immunology
MH  - Models, Molecular
MH  - Molecular Sequence Data
MH  - Protein Structure, Quaternary
MH  - Respiratory Hypersensitivity/*immunology
EDAT- 2002/01/31 10:00
MHDA- 2002/04/02 10:01
CRDT- 2002/01/31 10:00
PHST- 2002/01/31 10:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2002/04/02 10:01 [medline]
PHST- 2002/01/31 10:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1164/ajrccm.165.3.2104027 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002 Feb 1;165(3):391-7. doi: 
      10.1164/ajrccm.165.3.2104027.