Multiliter production and immunochemical cross-reactivity of plant tissue culture antigens.

Cells of short ragweed suspension culture were successfully propagated in a multiliter fermentor. Proteins were isolated from tissue cultures (short ragweed, cantaloupe, marigold, and Ammi) and plants (short ragweed pollen, cantaloupe fruit, and marigold flowers) by ammonium sulfate precipitation, cross-linked dextran gel filtration, and anion-exchange chromatography. Some fractions elicited allergenic responses in ragweed-sensitive patients but not in ragweed-nonsensitive control patients. Double-immunodiffusion analysis of these fractions showed their nonidentity with short ragweed antigen E.