Bacterially expressed and optimized recombinant Phl p 1 is immunobiochemically equivalent to natural Phl p 1

Recombinant production in bacteria of soluble and monomeric Phl p 1, a major allergen of Timothy grass pollen, has proved to be very problematic. In order to facilitate expression and purification of this allergen, a recombinant variant was designed with a single amino acid substitution. Several comparative analyses with natural counterparts using electrophoretic and HPLC separations, together with immunological assays, demonstrated high equivalence. This is the first description of an approach aiming at an improvement of a natural like recombinant allergen.