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Published on: November 3, 2014
Isolation and characterization of the major centipede allergen Sco m 5 from Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans
Xin-Qiang Lan1, Feng Zhao2, Qi-Quan Wang3
1Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/Key Laboratory of Bio-active Peptides of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, China; Key Laboratory of Ethic Medical Resources Research and Southeast Asian International Cooperation of Yunnan Universities, Department of Biology and Chemistry, Puer University, Puer, Yunnan, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Background:
Allergic reactions have been observed following both direct centipede bites and the clinical use of centipede-containing medicines, such as traditional Chinese medicines utilizing Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans; however, no natural centipede allergen has yet been characterized.
Methods:
An allergen was purified from S. s. mutilans venom using Superdex 75 gel filtration and RESOURCE S ion chromatography, and its primary structure was determined via a combination of LC-MS-MS, MALDI-TOF/TOF and protein sequencing techniques. Its potential allergenicity was evaluated by immunoblotting, ELISAs, skin prick tests (SPTs) and mast cell activation assays.
Results:
A novel allergen Sco m 5 (210 amino acids long) was successfully purified from crude S. s. mutilans venom. Sco m 5 could promote the degranulation of a human mast cell line, HMC-1. Among centipede-allergic patients, Sco m 5 showed an 83.3% IgE-binding frequency and a 66.7% positive reaction frequency, as detected by immunoblotting and SPTs, respectively. Sco m 5 IgE-binding frequencies of common Chinese population was found to be 9%-16%. Sera positive for Sco m 5 IgE-binding was cross-reactive against venom from the wasp Vespa mandaeinia.
Conclusions:
The present study isolated and characterized a novel allergen termed as Sco m 5 from the centipede S. s. mutilans. The use of Sco m 5 to identify centipede-allergic individuals could be important, given the high potential allergenicity of Sco m 5 among the general Chinese population, along with the likely possibility of cross-reactivity against wasp venom among centipede-allergic patients.
