Zeiler Thomas, Virtanen Tuomas
Department of Clinical Microbiology, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland.
Methods Mol Med. 2008;138:51-6. doi: 10.1007/978-1-59745-366-0_5.
Allergens are characterized by their ability to be bound by gE. The Swiss-Prot protein database currently lists a partial or complete amino acid sequence of in excess of about 350 allergens. It is not clear how allergens participate in the process of allergic sensitization, the generation of specific T-helper type 2 (Th2) lymphocytes, which play a crucial role in stimulating B lymphocytes to produce allergen-specific IgE.T-helper (Th) cells play a key role in the regulation of immune responses. The recognition of antigen by T cells is complex and it can trigger qualitatively differential signaling. Therefore, it is conceivable that epitopes or antigenic determinants recognized by Th cells may influence the quality of immune response. The aim of this chapter is to describe the way in which T-cell epitopes can be identified (mapped). This is particularly important because knowledge of the precise T-cell epitopes of allergens can give important information on the pathogenesis of allergy and can help to develop better preparations for the diagnostics and/or immunotherapy of allergy.
变应原的特点是能够与IgE结合。目前，瑞士蛋白质数据库列出了超过约350种变应原的部分或完整氨基酸序列。尚不清楚变应原如何参与过敏致敏过程，即特异性2型辅助性T（Th2）淋巴细胞的产生，Th2淋巴细胞在刺激B淋巴细胞产生变应原特异性IgE中起关键作用。辅助性T（Th）细胞在免疫反应调节中起关键作用。T细胞对抗原的识别很复杂，可触发性质不同的信号传导。因此，可以想象Th细胞识别的表位或抗原决定簇可能会影响免疫反应的性质。本章的目的是描述鉴定（定位）T细胞表位的方法。这一点尤为重要，因为了解变应原精确的T细胞表位可为过敏发病机制提供重要信息，并有助于开发更好的过敏诊断和/或免疫治疗制剂。
