Abstract
Bees, fire ants and vespids cause insect sting allergy. These insects have unique as well as common venom allergens. Vespids, including hornets, paper wasps and yellow jackets, have common allergens. Bees and vespids have one common allergen with hyaluronidase activity; they also have unique allergens with different phospholipase activities. Fire ants and vespids have one common allergen, antigen 5 of unknown biologic activity. The common venom allergens with < 70% sequence identity have barely detectable levels of antigenic cross-reactivity. Possible uses of modified allergens for immunotherapy are described.
MeSH terms
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Allergens / chemistry*
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Allergens / immunology
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Allergens / therapeutic use
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Animals
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Ant Venoms / enzymology
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Ant Venoms / immunology
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Arthropod Venoms / chemistry*
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Arthropod Venoms / immunology
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B-Lymphocytes / immunology
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Bee Venoms / enzymology
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Bee Venoms / immunology
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Cross Reactions
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Epitopes / immunology
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Epitopes / therapeutic use
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Hyaluronoglucosaminidase / chemistry
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Hyaluronoglucosaminidase / immunology
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Hymenoptera
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Immunotherapy
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Insect Bites and Stings / immunology*
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Insect Bites and Stings / therapy
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Phospholipases / chemistry
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Phospholipases / immunology
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T-Lymphocytes / immunology
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Wasp Venoms / chemistry
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Wasp Venoms / enzymology
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Wasp Venoms / immunology
Substances
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Allergens
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Ant Venoms
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Arthropod Venoms
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Bee Venoms
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Epitopes
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Wasp Venoms
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white-faced hornet venom antigen 5
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Phospholipases
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Hyaluronoglucosaminidase