| abstract |
Hypoallergenic mosaic antigens assembled from naturally-occurring allergens are disclosed herein. Also disclosed are methods of making such hypoallergenic mosaic antigens, particularly those derived from plant allergens such as timothy grass pollen (Phl p 1 and Phl p 2) and birch pollen (Bet v 1). In a particularly preferred embodiment, the method of making the hypoallergenic mosaic antigen involves the steps of (a) cleaving a naturally-occurring allergen into at least two, preferably at least three non-overlapping peptide fragments and (b) recombining the peptide fragments such that the mosaic antigen includes all or substantially all of the amino acids of the original naturally-occurring allergen, though in a different order. |