Affiliation:
1. School of Tropical Medicine and Laboratory Medicine, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 571101, China
2. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Wuxi People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214023, China
3. Department of Pediatrics Laboratory, Wuxi Children's Hospital, Wuxi 214023, China
Abstract
Background:
The dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae is a common worldwide cause of
indoor allergies induced by its proteins, including the mid-tier allergen Der f 7.
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Objective: To identify conformational epitopes in Der f 7 using mimotope mapping and computational
modelling.
Methods:
Here, we used standard hybridoma technology to generate 3 new monoclonal antibodies
against Der f 7 and performed mimotope mapping by probing a random peptide phage display library.
Computational tools, including Minox and the DiscoTope-2.0 Server were used to assess the
structure and potential position of antigenic residues within Der f 7.
Results:
Thirteen mimotopes sharing the common sequence --XX[LST]P[-E][LI]MLPLR[-S]- were
identified. Further, computationally-predicted conformational epitopes were found at residues 1-7,
10, 27, 76-81, 92, and 130-133 of Der f 7, and the key amino acids for these epitopes were deduced
to be 2P, 3I, 10E, 27E, 78E, 79E, 81I, 130S, and 132E based on the common mimotope sequence.
Conclusion:
We identified Der f 7 peptide mimotopes that may model binding sites for blocking
antibodies. These may guide the development of immunotherapy for individuals with hypersensitivity
to Der f 7.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
Biochemistry,General Medicine,Structural Biology