HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by De Palma, R. Articles by Gorski, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by De Palma, R. Articles by Gorski, J.

Use of Antagonist Peptides to Inhibit In Vitro T Cell Responses to Par j1, the Major Allergen of Parietaria judaica Pollen¹

Raffaele De Palma^*,,, Shenhong Wu, Federica Sallusto^2,§, Gabriella Di Felice^§, Paola Martucci^3,*, Domenico Geraci^¶, Paolo Colombo^¶, Costantino Troise^||, Guido Sacerdoti^*, Arcangelo Nocera^# and Jack Gorski^4,

^* Dipartimento di Internistica Clinica e Sperimentale II Universita’ di Napoli, Naples, Italy; Laboratori di Medicina Sperimentale, Fondazione "S. Maugeri," Centro Medico di Pavia, Pavia, Italy; The Blood Research Institute of The Blood Center of Southeastern Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201; ^§ Laboratorio di Immunologia, Istituto Superiore di Sanita’, Rome, Italy; ^¶ Istituto di Biologia dello Sviluppo-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy; ^|| Sezione Autonoma di Allergologia, Ospedale S. Martino, Genoa, Italy; ^# Servizio di Immunologia, Ospedale S. Martino, Universita’ di Genoa, Genoa, Italy

Antigenic peptides with substituted side chains inhibit immune responses to a number of recall Ags from infectious agents in vitro. Here we show that the same strategy can be applied to peptides derived from a pollen protein, the major allergen of Parietaria judaica(Par j1), a plant responsible for most allergenic sensitization in the southern Mediterranean area. Three T cell lines responding to Par j1 protein were used to identify a stimulatory peptide. Two different monosubstituted altered peptide ligands (APL) were identified that bound to the HLA-DR of the responders, did not stimulate the T cell lines on their own, and decreased the response to subsaturating amounts of the unmodified stimulatory peptide. Most important, these APL were able to inhibit the response of these cell lines to intact Par j1 protein. A third monosubstituted peptide bound to the HLA-DR but did not show inhibitory activity. The two APL had a lower affinity than the unsubstituted peptide for the HLA-DR. The last two observations make MHC blockade an unlikely explanation for the observed effect. These results indicate the action of a specific peptide-mediated antagonism that may be useful in controlling the T cell component of an allergic response.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Kinnunen, W. W. Kwok, A. Narvanen, M. Rytkonen-Nissinen, A. Immonen, S. Saarelainen, A. Taivainen, and T. Virtanen Immunomodulatory potential of heteroclitic analogs of the dominant T-cell epitope of lipocalin allergen Bos d 2 on specific T cells Int. Immunol., December 1, 2005; 17(12): 1573 - 1581. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Nisini, G. Romagnoli, M. J. Gomez, R. La Valle, A. Torosantucci, S. Mariotti, R. Teloni, and A. Cassone Antigenic Properties and Processing Requirements of 65-Kilodalton Mannoprotein, a Major Antigen Target of Anti-Candida Human T-Cell Response, as Disclosed by Specific Human T-Cell Clones Infect. Immun., June 1, 2001; 69(6): 3728 - 3736. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]