期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1999
卷号：96
期号：20
页码：11676-11680
DOI：10.1073/pnas.96.20.11676
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Type 1 allergic reactions, such as hay fever and allergic asthma, triggered by grass pollen allergens are a global health problem that affects {approx}20% of the population in cool, temperate climates. Ryegrass is the dominant source of allergens because of its prodigious production of airborne pollen. Lol p 5 is the major allergenic protein of ryegrass pollen, judging from the fact that almost all of the individuals allergic to grass pollen show presence of serum IgE antibodies against this protein. Moreover, nearly two-thirds of the IgE reactivity of ryegrass pollen has been attributed to this protein. Therefore, it can be expected that down-regulation of Lol p 5 production can significantly reduce the allergic potential of ryegrass pollen. Here, we report down-regulation of Lol p 5 with an antisense construct targeted to the Lol p 5 gene in ryegrass. The expression of antisense RNA was regulated by a pollen-specific promoter. Immunoblot analysis of proteins with allergen-specific antibodies did not detect Lol p 5 in the transgenic pollen. The transgenic pollen showed remarkably reduced allergenicity as reflected by low IgE-binding capacity of pollen extract as compared with that of control pollen. The transgenic ryegrass plants in which Lol p 5 gene expression is perturbed showed normal fertile pollen development, indicating that genetic engineering of hypoallergenic grass plants is possible.
