Abstract

In allergy immunotherapy (AIT) using peptides, although the choice of T-cell epitope in consideration of the HLA type is important, application to all HLA types is difficult. We recently devised a new method to address this problem in AIT for white birch pollinosis, using long-chain synthetic peptides by dividing the sequence of Bet v1a, the major allergen in white birch pollen, into three peptides that overlap by 10 amino acid residues. Theoretically, these peptides contain all possible T-cell epitopes for any HLA type. Further, these peptides show weak allergenicity and are considered less prone to cause anaphylaxis because the three-dimensional structures differ significantly from the native Bet v1a. The combination of these three peptides of Bet v1a appears to provide an effective, safe form of AIT for white birch pollinosis. This method may thus be applicable to other allergens.

Keywords: White birch pollinosis; Bet v1; Allergy immunotherapy; Peptide; Basophil activation test