Antigens and allergens from the common house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. Part II. Identification of the major IgE-binding antigens by crossed radioimmunoelectrophoresis.

Crossed immunoelectrophoresis demonstrated 51 antigens in a water-soluble extract of the house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. Autoradiography demonstrated that 11 of the antigens bound IgE antibodies in the sera of house dust mite-allergic patients. IgE antibodies in 23 different sera reacted with from one to eight antigens. On the basis of Lowenstein's (1978) definition of a "major allergen," two of the antigens, numbers one and 36 would be described as "major allergens." Apart from antigen number 36 that has already been demonstrated to be an important allergen in patients allergic to D. pteronyssinus, the clinical importance of the other 10 IgE-binding antigens has yet to be assessed. Reasons against use of the term "major allergen" and its replacement with the title "clinically important allergen" are advanced.