Molecular cloning of IgE-binding fragments of Alternaria alternata allergens

Exposure to the hyphomycete Alternaria alternata is recognized as an important risk factor for asthma. IgE immunoblotting has been used to catalogue the number and Mr of allergens in A. alternata extracts, with estimates ranging from 10 to 30, although few are present in nearly all extracts studied. Several A. alternata allergens have been cloned, including a subunit of the major allergen Alt a 1, ribosomal P2 phosphoprotein, aldehyde dehydrogenase and a yeast YCP4 homolog. We have cloned two sequences encoding IgE-binding fragments of allergens from an A. alternata lambda gt11 cDNA library using pooled atopic sera from A. alternata-sensitive individuals. One is homologous to a region near the C-terminus of hsp70 from Cladosporium herbarum; a near-complete isoallergen variant of A. alternata ribosomal P2 protein was also cloned. Their lacZ fusion proteins had reactivities of 5 and 14%, respectively, with individual atopic sera, indicating that the corresponding allergens are both minor. This study describes one new A. alternata allergen candidate and implicates ribosomal P2 protein as an allergen thtat is stable between independently isolated clones.