Purification of an allergenic protein fraction from wheat grain.

An allergenic protein fraction was isolated from wheat gluten by ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. On sodium dodecyl sulphate gel electrophoresis the molecular mass of the protein was found to be 65 kDa. By Western blotting it was confirmed that the 65 kDa protein was the major allergenic fraction causing dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) and it contained glutamic acid and proline as the major amino acids.