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Structural aspects of fungal allergens

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Abstract

Despite the increasing number of solved crystal structures of allergens, the key question why some proteins are allergenic and the vast majority is not remains unanswered. The situation is not different for fungal allergens which cover a wide variety of proteins with different chemical properties and biological functions. They cover enzymes, cell wall, secreted, and intracellular proteins which, except cross-reactive allergens, does not show any evidence for structural similarities at least at the three-dimensional level. However, from a diagnostic point of view, pure allergens biotechnologically produced by recombinant technology can provide us, in contrast to fungal extracts which are hardly producible as standardized reagents, with highly pure perfectly standardized diagnostic reagents.

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Acknowledgments

The laboratory of the author is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation grant nos. 320030_149978 and 31NM30_152038/1 (EuroNanoMed) and by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program [FP7-2007-2013] under grant agreement no. HEALTH-F2-2010-260338 “ALLFUN.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zürich, Davos, Switzerland

    Reto Crameri

  2. Department Molecular Allergology, Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), Obere Strasse 22, 7270, Davos, Switzerland

    Reto Crameri

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Correspondence to Reto Crameri.

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This article is a contribution to the special issue on Immunopathology of Fungal Diseases - Guest Editor: Jean-Paul Latge

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Crameri, R. Structural aspects of fungal allergens. Semin Immunopathol 37, 117–121 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00281-014-0458-0

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