Natural rubber latex antigens associated with allergies

摘要

The present invention relates to a 27 kD natural rubber latex (NRL) antigenic protein which can cause severe allergic reactions in humans sensitized to natural rubber. The present invention further pertains to antibodies and fragments of such antibodies which specifically bind to the 27 kD NRL antigen. The present invention additionally relates to the use of the 27 kD antigen of the invention to detect antibodies specific for the antigen. Methods of detecting the antigen using antibodies specific for the 27 kD protein are also disclosed in the present invention.