IgE Binding to Raw and Boiled Shrimp Proteins in Atopic and Nonatopic Patients with Adverse Reactions to Shrimp

• Published in: International archives of allergy and immunology Vol. 133; no. 3; pp. 225 - 232
• Main Authors: Samson, Karen Thursday R., Chen, Fen Hua, Miura, Katsushi, Odajima, Yasuhei, Iikura, Yoji, Rivas, Maria Naval, Minoguchi, Kenji, Adachi, Mitsuru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland Karger 01.03.2004; S. Karger AG
• Subjects: Adult; Allergies; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Western; Child, Preschool; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Female; Food Hypersensitivity - blood; Food Hypersensitivity - immunology; Food Hypersensitivity - metabolism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; Humans; Hypersensitivity, Immediate - blood; Hypersensitivity, Immediate - immunology; Hypersensitivity, Immediate - metabolism; Immunoglobulin E - immunology; Immunoglobulin E - metabolism; Immunopathology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Original Paper; Patients; Penaeidae - immunology; Protein Binding; Proteins; Proteins - immunology; Proteins - metabolism; Radioallergosorbent Test; Shellfish; Shellfish - adverse effects; Skin Tests; Statistics, Nonparametric; Food allergy; Adverse reaction; IgE; Shrimp; Atopy; Human; Immunopathology; Protein; Macrura; Crustacea; Immunology; Arthropoda; Decapoda; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 1018-2438; 1423-0097
• DOI: 10.1159/000076828

Background: Characterization of seafood allergens is important to understand the immune response to these allergens. Moreover, a detailed comparison between atopic and nonatopic patients with adverse reactions to shrimp has never been reported. Methods: Raw and boiled shrimp extracts were analyzed by immunoblotting using sera from 9 atopic and 7 nonatopic patients with a history of adverse reactions to shrimp, and 13 control subjects. Total IgE, specific IgE and skin prick tests (SPT) to shrimp were also investigated. Results: The level of specific IgE to shrimp was higher in atopic patients than nonatopic patients (p < 0.05). Symptoms, SPT results and major allergens involved were similar in atopic and nonatopic patients. The 16.5-kD protein had the highest frequency of IgE binding followed by the 40-kD protein in these patients. Other minor IgE-binding proteins were observed at the 20-, 22-, 54-, 72-, 129- and 140-kD regions. Patients who had binding to the 16.5-kD protein had either positive (25% raw/31% cooked) or negative (13% raw/cooked) CAP-FEIA-RAST, while patients who recognized the 40-kD protein all had positive (31% raw/19% cooked) CAP-FEIA-RAST. All control subjects had negative immunoblots for these two proteins. Conclusion: The 16.5-kD protein was the most frequent protein identified regardless of CAP-FEIA-RAST results, while the 40-kD protein was only present in patients with positive CAP-FEIA-RAST. Therefore, 16.5-kD protein may be an important allergen that is clinically relevant in both atopic and nonatopic patients with adverse reactions to shrimp even if it is not detected by the CAP-FEIA-RAST system.