The Prokaryotic Expression and Bioactivity of the Recombinant Red Fire Ant Venom Allergen Sol i 4

The sting of red imported fire ant (RIFA) could cause serious allergic response in fraction of people. These allergic reactions are mainly caused by its venom, especially venom allergen Sol i 1-4. To produce large amount of RIFA venom allergen Sol i 4 for diagnosis of RIFA allergy and allergen-specific immunotherapy, the gene encoding this protein was amplified and cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET43.1a. The recombinant plasmid was used to transform competent cells and the recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting analysis indicated that high-level expression of Sol i 4 protein was successfully achieved. Allergenic activity analysis of the recombinant allergen Sol i 4 was then performed on rabbit. The result showed that the recombinant protein obtained had significant allergenic activity. It indicated that the recombinant allergen Sol i 4 of RIFA venom was successfully expressed in E. coli, which provided foundation for further developing therapeutic and diagnosis reagents of RIFA allergy.