k215 rHev b 1 Latex

Allergens within Occupational Allergens

Print Print icon Tell a friend Tell a friend icon
  • Latin name: Hevea brasiliensis
  • Common names: Rubber elongation factor (REF)
  • Source material: Recombinant non-glycosylated MBP fusion protein produced in an E. coli strain carrying a cloned cDNA encoding
Recombinant allergen
Hevea brasiliensis allergen Hev b 1.

Biological function
Involved in biosynthesis of polyisoprene.
 
Mw
15 kDa
 
Allergen description
Hev b 1 (1-3), also known as rubber elongation factor (REF), is one of the most important Latex allergens and is a leading cause of Latex IgE-mediated allergy in children with spina bifida (SB) (4). Hev b 1 has also been shown to be an important allergen in healthcare workers (HCW) (5). It is a Latex-specific allergen without relevant homology to other plant proteins. Hev b 1 makes up 10% to 60% of the total protein found in Latex (6). Although Hev b 1 is not constantly found in Latex sap, it is the main protein found in Latex glove extract (7). In a laboratory where gloves are worn for protection, the use of Latex gloves resulted in a 26-fold increase in inhaled Latex allergen over background levels measured where vinyl gloves were worn as controls (8).
 
Hev b 1 is closely related to Hev b 3 (9). Both Hev b 1 and Hev b 3 are major waterinsoluble proteins located on the surface of rubber particles in H. brasiliensis Latex. Hev b 1 is found mainly on large rubber particles, and Hev b 3 mainly on small rubber particles. Both allergens bind IgE from patients with SB and Latex allergy (2).
 
Studies have reported a wide range of allergen-specific IgE binding to Hev b 1, with 54-100% of SB patients with Latex allergy reacting to Hev b 1, whereas a frequency of only 13-32% was observed in HCW (10).
 
In a study of serum from 140 SB patients as well as from 105 HCW allergic to Latex evaluated for sensitisation to highly purified Hev b 1, 81% with SB and allergic to Latex had IgE antibodies directed to Hev b 1, whereas antibodies to Hev b 1 were found in 52.3% of HCWs allergic to Latex (11).
 
Similarly, other studies have reported that Hev b 1 is a more prevalent allergen in SB Latex-allergic individuals than HCW Latex allergic individuals. For example, 4 of 6 SB Latex-allergic children exhibited IgE antibodies against Hev b 1, compared to only 1 of 30 Latex-allergic patients (12).
 
SB patients have been reported to display a unique pattern of sensitisation: IgE reactivity is preferentially directed against Hev b 3 and Hev b 1, the 2 Latex allergens with high sequence similarity (13). In a study of 35 Latex-allergic patients with SB, 29 showed IgE binding to rHev b 3, as did 4 of 15 of the Latex-sensitised group. Hev b 3 is related to Hev b 1 by a sequence identity of 47%. Although cross-reactivity between these 2 Latex allergens was illustrated by the large extent of inhibition of IgE binding to nHev b 1 by rHev b 3 (14), no crossreactivity between Hev b 3 and Hev b 1 has been shown at the T cell level (13). 
 
Studies performed with recombinant Hev b 1 (rHev b 1) showed that 16 out of 71 Latex-allergic HCW (23%) had IgE antibodies to rHev b 1. This confirmed the results of studies performed with the native counterpart (3).

Although no major cross-reactivity has been reported to Hev b 1, in a study of cross-reactivity of IgE antibodies recognising epitopes of Latex allergens and papain in sera of 36 Latex-exposed subjects and 22 papain workers, it was reported that 8 of 24 Latex-sensitised individuals showed low or moderate levels of allergen-specific IgE to papain, and 6 of the 12 sensitised papain workers had serum IgE to Latex allergen(s). Comparison between the primary sequences of Hev b 1 and papain suggested that the cross-reactivity might be due to several identical trimers and tetramers (15). Further studies may clarify this relationship.

In summary, Hev b 1 is one of the major Latex allergens in SB patients and is of intermediate relevance in the risk group HCW. 

References:

    1. Banerjee B, Kanitpong K, Fink JN, Zussman M, Sussman GL, Kelly KJ, Kurup VP. Unique and shared IgE epitopes of Hev b 1 and Hev b 3 in latex allergy. Mol Immunol 2000;37(12-13):789-98.
    2. Yeang HY, Cheong KF, Sunderasan E, Hamzah S, Chew NP, Hamid S, Hamilton RG, Cardosa MJ. The 14.6 kd rubber elongation factor (Hev b 1) and 24 kd (Hev b 3) rubber particle proteins are recognized by IgE from patients with spina bifida and latex allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1996;98(3):628-39.
    3. Rihs HP, Chen Z, Schumacher S, Rozynek P, Cremer R, Lundberg M, Raulf-Heimsoth M, Petersen A, Baur X. Recombinant Hev b 1: large-scale production and immunological characterization. Clin Exp Allergy 2000;30(9):1285-92.
    4. Chen Z, Van Kampen V, Raulf-Heimsoth M, Baur X. Allergenic and antigenic determinants of latex allergen Hev b 1: peptide mapping of epitopes recognized by human, murine and rabbit antibodies. Clin Exp Allergy 1996;26(4):406-15.
    5. Raulf-Heimsoth M, Chen Z, Liebers V, Allmers H, Baur X. Lymphocyte proliferation response to extracts from different latex materials and to the purified latex allergen Hev b 1 (rubber elongation factor). J Allergy Clin Immunol 1996;98(3):640-51.
    6. Sussman GL, Beezhold DH, Kurup VP. Allergens and natural rubber proteins. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002;110(2 Pt 2):S033-9.
    7. Chardin H, Raulf-Heimsoth M, Chen Z, Rihs HP, Mayer C, Desvaux FX, Senechal H, Peltre G. Interest of two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis for the characterization of the individual sensitization to latex allergens. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2002;128(3):195-203.
    8. Poulos LM, O'Meara TJ, Hamilton RG, Tovey ER. Inhaled latex allergen (Hev b 1). J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002;109(4):701-6.
    9. Durauer A, Csaszar E, Mechtler K, Jungbauer A, Schmid E. Characterisation of the rubber elongation factor from ammoniated latex by electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 2000;890(1):145-58.
    10. Rihs H-P, Raulf-Heimsoth M. Natural rubber latex allergens: Characterization and evaluation of their allergenic capacity. New Horizons, Pharmacia Diagnostics AB 2003;No 3.
    11. Chen Z, Cremer R, Posch A, Raulf-Heimsoth M, Rihs HP, Baur X. On the allergenicity of Hev b 1 among health care workers and patients with spina bifida allergic to natural rubber latex. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1997;100(5):684-93.
    12. Alenius H, Kalkkinen N, Yip E, Hasmin H, Turjanmaa K, Makinen-Kiljunen S, Reunala T, Palosuo T. Significance of rubber elongation factor as a latex allergen. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 1996;109(4):362-8.
    13. Bohle B, Wagner B, Vollmann U, Buck D, Niggemann B, Szepfalusi Z, Fischer G, Scheiner O, Breiteneder H, Ebner C. Characterization of T cell responses to Hev b 3, an allergen associated with latex allergy in spina bifida patients. J Immunol 2000;164(8):4393-8.
    14. Wagner B, Krebitz M, Buck D, Niggemann B, Yeang HY, Han KH, Scheiner O, Breiteneder H. Cloning, expression, and characterization of recombinant Hev b 3, a Hevea brasiliensis protein associated with latex allergy in patients with spina bifida. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999;104(5):1084-92.
    15. Baur X, Chen Z, Rozynek P, Duser M, Raulf Heimsoth M. Cross-reacting IgE antibodies recognizing latex allergens, including Hev b 1, as well as papain. Allergy 1995;50(7):604-9.

2006



Further Reading