Spectra por 1

Lyophilized HDM extract from Greer (Lenoir,NC), XPB70D3A25, was resuspended in sterile saline and stored at −80° C. We also prepared an HDM extract from whole D. pteronyssinus mites (2.04 gms, ALK-abello Source Materials Inc. (Post Falls, ID), lot# 10–1289 and 5.03 gms Greer Source Materials (Lenoir,NC), RMB82F, lot#166421) by pulverizing them in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) in 50 ml conical tubes for 5 or 10 minutes using a tissue homogenizer (TissueMiser, FisherScientific) at maximum speed while on ice. Homogenate was progressively centrifuged up to 40 K rpm, and the supernatant was: passed through 40 µm pore strainer, brought to a pH of 7, dialyzed against normal saline using a MWCO 6000–8000 membrane (Spectra Por 1, FisherScientific), filtered through a 0.45 µm pore membrane by syringe and its protein content quantitated by Bradford / Coomassie blue. Lyophilized IL-13, from PeproTech (Rocky Hill, NJ), 210–13, was resuspended in molecular grade water and either: left at room temperature for a few minutes before storing at −80° C (Lot 1) or left at 4° C for 1 week before storing at −80° C (Lot 2).