Identification of the second major allergen of Japanese cedar pollen

We isolated and characterized the second major allergen (Cry j II) from Japanese cedar pollen. We found that most patients with this pollinosis had IgE antibody to this protein in addition to IgE antibody to Cry j I; however, some sera reacted only with Cry j I or Cry j IL IgE‐ELISA inhibition studies revealed that Cry j I and Cry j II had no cross‐allergenicity. Cry j II did not react with anti‐Cry j I monoclonal antibodies. In SDS‐PAGE under a non‐reducing condition. Cry j II showed a band at the 37 kDa position, compared with the 45–50 kDa bands of Cry j I. N‐terminal amino acid sequence of Cry j II was completely different from that oi Cry j I.