Characterisation of potential novel allergens in the fish parasite .

The parasitic nematode occurs in fish stocks in temperate seas. contamination of fish products is unsavoury and a health concern considering human infection with live larvae (anisakiasis) and allergic reactions to anisakid proteins in seafood. Protein extracts of produce complex band patterns in gel electrophoresis and IgE-immunostaining.

Structural and immunological characterization of recombinant Pan b 1, a major allergen of northern shrimp, Pandalus borealis.

Background: Shellfish allergy is one of the major causes of life-threatening allergic reactions to food. The shrimp species Pandalus borealis is the commercially most important coldwater shrimp species, and its protein extract is commonly used in shrimp allergy diagnostics. However, the DNA sequence of its major allergen, tropomyosin, designated Pan b 1, was not previously described.

Severe allergic reactions to food in Norway: a ten year survey of cases reported to the food allergy register.

The Norwegian Food Allergy Register was established at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in 2000. The purpose of the register is to gain information about severe allergic reactions to food in Norway and to survey food products in relation to allergen labelling and contamination. Cases are reported on a voluntary basis by first line doctors, and submitted together with a serum sample for specific IgE analysis.

Characterization of potential allergens in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) using patient sera and MS-based proteomic analysis.

Background: Fenugreek is a legume plant used as an ingredient of curry spice. Incidents of IgE-mediated food allergy to fenugreek have been reported. Coincidence with allergy to peanut, a major food allergen, seems to be common suggesting a rather high rate of cross-reactivity.

Effects of industrial processing on the immunogenicity of commonly ingested fish species.

Background: Food-processing techniques may induce changes in fish protein immunogenicity. Allergens from >100 fish species have been identified, but little is known on the effects of processing on fish protein immunogenicity.

Methods: IgE binding of sera of patients allergic to fresh and processed (smoked, salted/sugar-cured, canned, lye-treated and fermented) cod, haddock, salmon, trout, tuna, mackerel and herring and of hydrolysates based on salmon and whiting was investigated using immunoblot and inhibition ELISA.

Quantitative sandwich ELISA for the determination of tropomyosin from crustaceans in foods.

The ubiquitous muscle protein tropomyosin has been identified as the major shrimp allergen and is suggested to be a cross-reacting allergen. Previously, only a few methods for the detection of tropomyosin in food have been published. A quantitative sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of tropomyosin from crustaceans in foods has been developed and validated.

Extractability, stability, and allergenicity of egg white proteins in differently heat-processed foods.

Hen's egg white protein is a major cause of food allergy, and a considerable number of countries have introduced labeling directions for processed food products. To control compliance with these regulations, analytical assays for the detection of egg in manufactured foods have been developed. In this study, we have tested the performance of 3 commercially available kits for quantitative egg analysis using 6 model heat-processed foods.

Sterol demethylation inhibitor fungicides as disruptors of insect development and inducers of glutathione S-transferase activities in Mamestra brassicae.

To study physiological and biochemical effects of demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides on non-target insects, larvae of the cabbage moth, Mamestra brassicae L., were exposed orally to propiconazole, (R,S)-1-[2-(2,4-diclophenyl)-4-propyl-1,3-dioolan-2-ylmetyl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole (100, 200 and 600 mg L(-1)) and fenpropimorph, (+/-)-cis-4-[3-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-2-methylpropyl] 2,6-dimethylmorpholinc (10, 100, 200 and 600 mg L(-1)) in a semi-synthetic diet. Ten mg L(-1) of fenpropimorph reduced larval weight and induced in vitro glutathione S-transferase activity.

Casein-specific immunoglobulins in cow's milk allergic patient subgroups reveal a shift to IgA dominance in tolerant patients.

Differences in casein-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) G-subclass and IgA serum levels between reactive and tolerant patients may hint at the immunopathogenesis during tolerance development in cow's milk allergy (CMA). alpha-, beta- and kappa-casein-specific IgG(1), IgG(4), IgE and IgA serum levels were compared in clinically reactive and tolerized IgE-mediated (n = 15) and non-IgE-mediated (n = 14) CMA with delayed gastrointestinal symptoms, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblot techniques. The median anti-casein IgE levels in clinically reactive IgE-mediated CMA patients (n = 9) were 140- to 180-fold higher than in tolerized patients (n = 6) and 160- to 200-fold higher than in controls (n = 10).

Monoclonal antibodies against the candidate lupin allergens alpha-conglutin and beta-conglutin.

Background: The ingestion of dietary products containing sweet lupin (such as Lupinus albus or Lupinus angustifolius) has been reported to cause IgE-mediated allergic reactions. Recent studies have indicated lupin globulins as important IgE binding proteins. The aim of the present study was to generate and characterize monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against lupin seed proteins.

Memory T cell proliferation in cow's milk allergy after CD25+ regulatory T cell removal suggests a role for casein-specific cellular immunity in IgE-mediated but not in non-IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy.

Background: Previously reported increased lymphocyte proliferative responses in cow's milk allergy (CMA) may have been influenced by the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) which contaminate most commercial cow's milk protein (CMPs). Moreover, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) contain both B cells, CD45RA+ naïve T cells, CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in addition to antigen-specific CD45RA- memory T cells.

Methods: PBMC from clinically reactive and tolerised patients with IgE- and non-IgE-mediated CMA were depleted of CD45RA+ T cells and putative CD25+ Tregs.

Changes in humoral responses to beta-lactoglobulin in tolerant patients suggest a particular role for IgG4 in delayed, non-IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy.

The major cow's milk allergen beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG) is relatively resistant to enzymatic degradation and may therefore be involved in non-immunoglobulin (Ig)E-mediated cow's milk allergy (CMA) with delayed gastrointestinal symptoms. Serum levels of beta-LG-specific IgG(1), IgG(4), IgE, and IgA were compared in clinically reactive and tolerized IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated CMA with delayed gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 29) and controls (n = 10). Tolerance was associated with decreased beta-LG-specific IgE, IgG(1), and IgG(4) levels in both patient groups.

Quantitative sandwich ELISA for the determination of lupine (Lupinus spp.) in foods.

The use of lupine in foods has increased considerably during the past decade, reflected by a corresponding increase in reported lupine-induced allergic incidents. Lupine allergy may arise either by primary sensitization or by clinical cross-reactivity in peanut-allergic persons. Detection of lupine proteins in food has previously been based on the use of patient serum.

A case of peanut cross-allergy to lupine flour in a hot dog bread.

Background: In a case monitored by the Norwegian National Register for Severe Allergic Reactions to Food, a patient with peanut allergy experienced an allergic reaction after eating a particular brand of hot dog bread. The aim of this study was to identify the eliciting allergen.

Methods: Extracts from the hot dog bread and reference material from peanut, lupine and lupine-fortified food products were analysed by immunochemical methods with patient serum and a new polyclonal anti-lupine antibody.