Table 1.
Alternaria alternata allergens.
| Allergen | Clinical Relevance | Biological Function | MW (kDa) | Protein (UNIPROT) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alt a 1 | Major (95%) | Unknown | 16.4 and 15.3 | P79085 | De Vouge et al., 1998 [26] |
| Alt a 2 | Inconclusive | Unknown | 22.3–25 | O94095 | Kustrzeba-Wójcicka et al., 2014 [27] |
| Alt a 3 | Minor (5%) | Heat shock protein 70 | 70 | P78983 | De Vouge et al., 1998 [26] |
| Alt a 4 | Minor (42%) | Disulfide isomerase | 57 | Q00002 | Achatz et al., 1995 [28] |
| Alt a 5 | Minor (8–14%) | Ribosomal protein P2 | 11 | P42037 | Achatz et al., 1995 [28] |
| Alt a 6 | Minor (22%) | Enolase | 45 | Q9HDT3 | Simon-Nobbe et al., 2000 [29] |
| Alt a 7 | Minor (7%) | Flavodoxin, YCP4 protein | 22 | P42058 | Achatz et al., 1995 [28] |
| Alt a 8 | Minor (41%) | Mannitol dehydrogenase | 29 | P0C0Y4 | Schneider et al., 2006 [30] |
| Alt a 9 | Minor (5%) | Unknown | 43 | - | Kustrzeba-Wójcicka et al., 2014 [27] |
| Alt a 10 | Minor (2%) | Aldehydede hydrogenase | 53 | P42041 | Achatz et al., 1995 [28] |
| Alt a 12 | Minor | Acid ribosomal protein P1 | 11 | P49148 | Achatz et al., 1995 [28] |
| Alt a 13 | Minor (82%) | Glutathione-S-transferase | 26 | Q6R4B4 | Shankar et al., 2006 [31] |
| Alt a 14 | Minor (11.5%) | Manganese superoxide dismutase | 24 | P86254 | Kustrzeba-Wójcicka et al., 2014 [27] |
| Alt a 15 | Minor (10.2%) | Vacuolar serine protease | 58 | A0A0F6N3V8 | Kustrzeba-Wójcicka et al., 2014 [27] |
| Alt a NFT2 | Minor (0.8%) | Nuclear transport factor 2 | 13.7 | Q8NKB7 | Weichel et al., 2003 [32] |
| TCTP | Minor (4%) | Translationally controlled tumor protein | 20–30 | D0MQ50 | Rid R., et al., 2009 [33] |
| Alt a 1 70 kDa | Minor (87%) | Unknown | 70 | - | Olson et al., 1990 [34] |
While more than 90% of patients sensitized to Alternaria had positive skin test to Alt a 1 [35], it was considered the only well-defined major allergen of this source. However, Alt a 13 is suggested to be another major allergen because of eliciting skin reactions in 14 of 17 patients [31]. Alt a 13 is a 26 kDa glutathione-S-transferase whose function is the detoxification of endogenous and xenobiotic compounds by conjugation of these compounds to reduce glutathione. It is recognized as a cross-reactive allergen in fungal extracts [36]. However, there are insufficient studies, and the studies performed to support its classification as a major allergen were carried out with a small number of patients.