Pollen grains are ubiquitous triggers of allergic asthma and seasonal rhinitis. Proteolytic enzymes in pollen as well as other sources are capable of disrupting airway epithelial integrity in vivo and in vitro. This provides a plausible mechanism for the initiation of sensitisation of the respiratory immune system to inhaled pollen allergens, comparable to that suggested for Group 1 allergens from house dust mites and cat dander, which are known to possess intrinsic proteolytic activity. This thesis explores the relationship between pollen allergens and proteolytic enzymes. It describes the different strategies used for the characterisation, purification and identification of immunogenic and proteolytic proteins in the complex mixtures of pollen diffusates. The peptidases in the diffusates of Kentucky blue grass, ryegrass and Bermuda grass pollens were characterised by a sensitive fluorescence assay and gelatin zymography. Among these, Bermuda grass pollen demonstrated the presence of a serine peptidase at Mr ~30,000 Da, which corresponded to an intense band by Western blotting using a monoclonal antibody to the timothy grass (Phleum pratense) group 1 allergen, Phl p 1. Purification of this enzyme from Bermuda grass was complicated by the low levels of the enzyme present in the diffusate, as well as by its autohydrolysis. Partial purification of the serine peptidase activity by affinity chromatography using Concanavalin A Sepharose demonstrated that the diffusate contained a trypsin-like peptidase, detected by the fluorescent assay, in addition to the ~30,000 Da serine endopeptidase, detected on gelatin zymography. Proteomic analysis of the ~30,000 Da protein using one- and two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry identified it as the major pollen allergen of Bermuda grass, Cyn d 1. The studies reported here provide, for the first time, evidence that a pollen allergen may possess intrinsic proteolytic activity. This activity may play a role in the initiation of airway inflammation and allergic sensitisation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/258571 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Saldanha, Rohit Gregory, Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Medical Sciences |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Rohit Gregory Saldanha, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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