Soluble copolymers of yellow jacket, yellow hornet and white faced hornet with human albumin for venom immunotherapy.

Soluble polymers have been prepared by polymerizing human serum albumin (HSA) with either yellow jacket venom (YJV), yellow hornet venom (YHV) or white faced hornet venom (WFHV). The venom-albumin polymer preparations were fractionated on Sephacryl S-300 to have a molecular weight range higher than catalase (2.4 x 10(5) daltons). Rabbits were immunized with either yellow jacket venom-albumin polymer (YJVAP), yellow hornet venom-albumin polymer (YHVAP) or white faced hornet venom-albumin polymer (WFHVAP). Rabbits immunized with venom-albumin polymer (VAP) produced IgG antibody to VAP and venom, as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Experiments to demonstrate antigenic completeness and absence of new antigenic determinants in the polymer were performed using WFHVAP. IgG against WFHVAP was completely inhibited by a mixture of WFHV and HSA demonstrating the absence of new antigenic determinants in WFHVAP. IgG against WFHV in sera from patients receiving maintenance doses of WFHV immunotherapy was completely inhibited by WFHVAP, demonstrating antigenic completeness. We have previously described similar results with bee venom-albumin polymer and wasp venom-albumin polymer. We now conclude that VAP preparations of all five clinically relevant hymenoptera venoms have potential value in the treatment of hymenoptera anaphylaxis.