Multiple T cell specificities for Bet v I, the major birch pollen allergen, within single individuals. Studies using specific T cell clones and overlapping peptides

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Abstract
Twenty‐five T cell clones specific for Bet v I were established from the peripheral blood of two birch pollen‐allergic patients. The T cell epitopes of these clones were mapped using dodecapeptides overlapping for 2 amino acids (neighbors share 10 residues) spanning the whole amino acid sequence of the protein (159 amino acids). In total, 7 epitopes could be detected. One donor displayed 6 distinct T cell specificities for the Bet v I molecule in 14 T cell clones; for the other donor, 4 stimulating peptides for 11 clones could be identified. Two T cell epitopes were recognized by both subjects. One of these might represent an immunodominant epitope located at amino acid position 77–92 of the Bet v I molecule, as in 13/25 T cell clones activation could be induced by this amino acid sequence. One T cell clone reacted with purified pollen‐derived Bet v I, but neither with any peptide synthesized according to a Bet v I‐encoding cDNA nor with the respective recombinant protein. Upon stimulation with allergen, the majority of the clones (21/24) revealed the THO or TH2 type of cytokine production (interleukin‐4 production), indicating their importance in the pathogenesis of the allergic disease.