Structural and Immunological Features of PR-10 Allergens: Focusing on the Major Alder Pollen Allergen Aln g 1.

Today, allergies have become a serious problem. PR-10 proteins are clinically relevant allergens that have the ability to bind hydrophobic ligands, which can significantly increase their allergenicity potential. It has been recently shown that not only the birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 but also the alder pollen allergen Aln g 1, might act as a true sensitizer of the immune system.

Structural and Immunologic Properties of the Major Soybean Allergen Gly m 4 Causing Anaphylaxis.

Gly m 4 is the major soybean allergen, causing birch pollen cross allergic reactions. In some cases, Gly m 4-mediated anaphylaxis takes place, but the causative factors are still unknown. Here, we studied the structural and immunologic properties of Gly m 4 to shed light on this phenomenon.

Effect of Point Mutations on Structural and Allergenic Properties of the Lentil Allergen Len c 3.

Plant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are known to be clinically significant allergens capable of binding various lipid ligands. Recent data showed that lipid ligands affected the allergenic properties of plant LTPs. In this work, we checked the assumption that specific amino acid residues in the Len c 3 structure can play a key role both in the interaction with lipid ligands and IgE-binding capacity of the allergen.

Impact of Different Lipid Ligands on the Stability and IgE-Binding Capacity of the Lentil Allergen Len c 3.

Previously, we isolated the lentil allergen Len c 3, belonging to the class of lipid transfer proteins, cross-reacting with the major peach allergen Pru p 3 and binding lipid ligands. In this work, the allergenic capacity of Len c 3 and effects of different lipid ligands on the protein stability and IgE-binding capacity were investigated. Impacts of pH and heat treating on ligand binding with Len c 3 were also studied.

Photostability enhancement of InP/ZnSe/ZnSeS/ZnS quantum dots by plasmonic nanostructures.

The effect of gold and silver plasmonic films on the photoluminescence and photostability of InP/ZnSe/ZnSeS/ZnS nanocrystals (quantum dots) is reported. Colloidal gold films promote the photostability enhancement of InP/ZnSe/ZnSeS/ZnS quantum dots (more durable emission properties in the presence of metal nanostructures) through reducing exciton lifetime. In contrast, silver decreases the photostability of InP/ZnSe/ZnSeS/ZnS quantum dots without changing the photoluminescence intensity and kinetics.