A reference allergen preparation of the house dust mite D. pteronyssinus, produced from whole mite culture--a part of the DAS 76 study. Comparison with allergen preparations from other raw materials.

A D. pteronyssinus whole culture allergen preparation contained 49 antigens as revealed by crossed immunoelectrophoresis (CIE), using polyspecific rabbit antibodies. Crossed radio-immunoelectrophoresis ( CRIE ) with sera from 30 patients revealed nine allergens, antigens 42, X, Y and 23 (in rank order) showing the most frequent and intense IgE-uptake. Nine antigens originated from the culture medium (human dander + yeast), but none of these gave rise to specific IgE-uptake. Extremely few and weak reactions were observed in radioallergosorbent (RAST) with 129 sera, using media extracts on the discs. Purified mite body extract (PMB) contained less ag 42 and more ag Y and ag 23 than whole mite culture extract ( WMC ), whereas an acetone-extracted mite excreta preparation (AML) contained 5 times more ag 42, but was devoid of ag Y and ag 23. Ag X was present in all preparations. The RAST-inhibitory potency of PMB was best correlated with the content of ag X. Preparations with properties similar to WMC and PMB were judged as suitable for clinical application.