Document 0108
 DOCN  M9550108
 TI    Nonallergic individuals recognize the same T cell epitopes of Bet v 1,
       the major birch pollen allergen, as atopic patients.
 DT    9505
 AU    Ebner C; Schenk S; Najafian N; Siemann U; Steiner R; Fischer GW;
       Hoffmann K; Szepfalusi Z; Scheiner O; Kraft D; Institute of General and
       Experimental Pathology, University of; Vienna, Austria.
 SO    J Immunol. 1995 Feb 15;154(4):1932-40. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/95138538
 AB    The immune response toward allergens in nonallergic healthy individuals
       was investigated. To boost immune responses, two injections of birch
       pollen extract were administered to five nonallergic volunteers. T cell
       lines (TCL) with specificity for Bet v 1, the major birch pollen
       allergen, were established and analyzed for epitope specificity using
       overlapping peptides. Forty-nine T cell clones (TCC) specific for Bet v
       1 were isolated from TCLs. Comparison with TCL and TCC established from
       birch pollen-allergic patients was performed. All TCC revealed the Th
       phenotype. Epitope specificities of TCL and TCC from nonatopics were
       identical to those found in allergic individuals. No association between
       MHC class II molecules and particular epitopes could be observed. In
       nonallergic as well as in allergic individuals, cytokine production in
       response to specific stimulation revealed a majority of Th-clones
       producing IL-4 and IFN-gamma. However, TCC derived from atopic
       individuals revealed a higher IL-4/IFN-gamma ratio. Immunoblot and ELISA
       revealed Bet v 1-specific IgG in nonallergic individuals before and
       after booster injections, but no IgE could be detected. High levels of
       Bet v 1-specific IgG and IgE could be detected in birch pollen-allergic
       patients. It can be concluded, that nonatopic and allergic individuals
       display the same repertoire of T cell specificities. In allergic
       individuals, the activation of allergen-specific TCC leads to a higher
       ratio of produced IL-4 vs IFN-gamma, which is responsible for enhanced
       IgE production.
 DE    Allergens/*IMMUNOLOGY  Amino Acid Sequence  Antigenic
       Determinants/*IMMUNOLOGY  Cell Line  Clone Cells  Hay Fever/*IMMUNOLOGY
       Human  Hypersensitivity, Immediate/*IMMUNOLOGY  HLA-D Antigens/ANALYSIS
       IgE/BIOSYNTHESIS/IMMUNOLOGY  IgG/BIOSYNTHESIS/IMMUNOLOGY  Interferon
       Type II/BIOSYNTHESIS  Interleukin-4/BIOSYNTHESIS  Intradermal Tests
       Lymphocyte Transformation  Molecular Sequence Data  Peptide
       Fragments/CHEMISTRY/IMMUNOLOGY  Plant Proteins/*IMMUNOLOGY  Reference
       Values  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  T-Lymphocyte Subsets/*IMMUNOLOGY  Th2
       Cells/IMMUNOLOGY/METABOLISM  Trees  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).