ISSN:
1365-2222
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Adult fleas, spent and unspent culture media were extracted and the radio-atlergosor-bent test (RAST) performed with sera of 48 cat flea skin test-positive individuals from the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Sixteen sera (33.6%) had a positive RAST to the cat flea extract prepared in our laboratory [1.7-11.4% of the total counts (TC) added]. Six of the 16 sera (12.5%) also contained specific IgE to allergens in thespent medium (0.8-3.3% TC). The allergen composition and strength were studied by RAST inhibition of two commercial cat flea extracts and compared with our in-house flea extract. The results demonstrated similar allergen compositions and different potencies. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of the in-house flea extract showed several Coomassie blue-stained bands (10–85 kD). SDS-PAGE immunoblols revealed five IgE-binding bands at 34, 35, 39, 54 and 60 kD. Flea allergens were quantified in eight house dust samples using RAST inhibition assays and expressed as RAST inhibition units; five of these samples contained detectable levels. Cat flea allergens may contribute to the allergenicity of house dust in areas of heavy llea infestation.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2222.1993.tb00342.x
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