IDENTIFICATION OF COCKROACH AEROALLERGENS FROM LIVING CULTURES OF GERMAN OR AMERICAN COCKROACHES

The Air Sentinel and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes were used to capture airborne particles over living colonies of German or American cockroaches. Silver-stained SDS-PAGE gels revealed protein bands at 80, 55, 36, and several bands below the 33-kD marker. SDS-PAGE/immunoblots of PTFE eluates from German cockroach colonies incubated with serum from cockroach-sensitive individuals revealed IgE-binding bands with apparent molecular weights of 36 and 80 kD. Only the 36-kD allergen and allergens below the 33-kD marker were evident in the American PTFE eluate. ELISA analysis with a monoclonal antibody assay identified the presence of both Bla g I and Bla g II in the German PTFE eluate. No Bla g I or Bla g II could be identified in the American PTFE eluate. These studies demonstrate that in addition to Bla g I and Bla g II, several other aerosolized allergens become airborne over cockroach colonies and may be important in the environment where cockroaches are abundant.