Comparative Study of the Pollen Protein Contents in Two Major Varieties of Cupressus arizonica Planted in Tehran

During past few years, the cupressus an'zonica has been abundandy planted in tehran,causing a significant increase of allergic diseases from the middle of winter to the beginning ofspring. the aim of this study was the comparison of pollen protein content in two majorvarieties of c. atizonica planted in tehran, including c. anzonica var. atizonica and c. arispnica vat.glabra, in order to determine pollen's specificity of each variety and also to find out whetherenvironmental conditions can influence pollen protein contents and its allergenic components.pollen grains were direcdy collected from mature male cones of trees planted in differentareas of the city. pollen's proteins were extracted, and were analyzed by sds page. totalprotein content of pollen extracts was measured by bradford assay.our investigations revealed noticeable differences in protein content of each variety.bradford protein assay showed a higher total protein content in c. anspnica var. atizonicapollen extracts. a new major protein, with an approximate molecular weight of about 35kda was detected in both varieties. immunoblotting using the serum of a cypress allergicsubject showed that the protein with 35 kda was also the major allergen of both varieties inpollen extracts.these results showed that there are some intraspecie specificities in arizona cypresspollens. the major allergen of cupresuss arizonica pullen, cup a 1 (45 kda), has been reportedas the most representative protein in pollen extracts of mediterranean countries, but in ourautochthon extracts of both varieties, a protein band at 35 kda was more representative.these observations seem to indicate that c. mizonica pollen protein content may beinfluenced by environmental conditions. moreover, immunoblot results provided a reliableindication on the allergenic activity of this new major protein band at 35kda, theconfirmation of these aspects would facilitate the preparation of an effective extract,improving the diagnosis of the allergy to the cupressus an'zonica pollen.