Citation

King TP. Toxicon 1996; 34(11-12): 1455-1458.

Affiliation

Rockefeller University, New York 10021, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9028002

Abstract

Several major venom allergens from different insects of the Hymenoptera order have been cloned and sequenced by different laboratories. These insects include fire ants, honey bees, hornets, yellowjackets and wasps. These venom allergens have different biochemical functions, but have one feature in common, their varying extents of sequence identity with other proteins in our environment. Our studies in mice suggest that recombinant fragments containing regions of sequence identity of venom allergen(s) and host protein(s) show antigenic cross-reactivity. These studies lead to the hypothesis that cross-reactivity of venom allergens with host proteins promotes the immunogenicity of venom allergens in susceptible people.

Language: en