Recently, purified allergens have been utilized for allergen-specific IgE tests, which are highly useful because of their excellent specificity and sensitivity in identifying allergic patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of tropomyosin-specific IgE test in the diagnosis of shrimp allergies in Japan.We enrolled 27 patients with shrimp allergy and five patients with atopic dermatitis, who had no history of allergic reactions to shrimp but showed positive results in tropomyosin-specific IgE test, in this study. Tropomyosin-specific IgE was determined by IgE immunoblotting and tropomyosin-specific IgE test. Involvement of carbohydrate moieties in IgE binding to the allergens was examined by periodate treatment. Tropomyosin-specific IgE was detected in 13 and positive in 10 of the 27 patients with shrimp allergy, whereas shrimp-specific IgE was detected in 21 and positive in 20 of these 27 patients. Of the 13 patients with detectable levels of tropomyosin-specific IgE, seven were confirmed to have tropomyosin-specific IgE by immunoblotting analysis, whereas no IgE binding was seen in the five patients with atopic dermatitis, indicating the high specificity of the tropomyosin-specific IgE test.The level of tropomyosin-specific IgE was well correlated with those of shrimp-specific IgE and Der p 10-specific IgE. Our findings indicated tropomyosin is a minor but distinct allergen in patients with shrimp allergy, especially causing symptoms of OAS. K E Y W O R D Scross-reactivity, crustaceans, shellfish, shrimp, tropomyosin

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The red meat allergy caused by tick bites are increasing worldwide. It is known that IgE epitope of major red meat allergens is galactose-1,3-galactose (a-Gal). Thus, the patients with red meat allergy have a high risk to develop anaphylaxis to taking cetuximab that chimeratype monoclonal antineoplastic drug, because it also contains a-Gal, and its cross-reaction. The a-Gal specific IgE (sIgE) test by CAP-fluoro-enzyme immunoassay (FEIA) is one of the most sensitive examination to identify the patients with red meat allergy. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of sensitization against a-Gal in Shimane prefecture that the endemic area of Japanese spotted fever and Miyagi prefecture that the area with lowincidence of Japanese spotted fever. We enrolled 200 patients from Shimane University Hospital and Tohoku University Hospital, and those patients had examined without complaining red meat allergy. a-Gal and beef sIgE tests were determined by the CAP-FEIA. The IgE reactivity to cetuximab was assessed by immunoblotting. From 100 subjects in Shimane, four were positive with beef-sIgE, and seven were positive with a-Gal-sIgE and five of them found to have IgE against cetuximab by immunoblotting. Whereas, 100 subjects from Miyagi, one was positive with a-Gal and four were positive with beef sIgE tests, but no one of subjects with positive either a-Gal or beef sIgE was not found to have IgE against cetuximab by immunoblotting. The result revealed that prevalence of sensitization against a-Gal is 7% in Shimane and 1% in Miyagi. However, they had no history of red meat allergy. The cetuximab-sIgE was detected 5% in Shimane, whereas it was 0% in Miyagi. These results indicate that prevalence of sensitization against a-Gal is different among the areas in Japan. Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and some studies have shown that the incidence rate (IR) and prognosis varies between race/ethnic (R/E) groups. This study aims to investigate whether R/E disparities in MF IR have changed from 2000 to 2014 using the Health Disparities Calculator (HD*calc) produced by the SEER Program. SEER data, excluding Alaska Native and Louisiana registries, from 2000 to 2014 were used to estimate age-adjusted IR of MF by gender and R/E group. R/E categories were limited to White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian, or Hispanic. IRs were inputted into HD*calc to generate the range difference (RD), a measure of disparity. RD is calculated as the difference in IR of MF between the R/E group with the highest IR and lowest IR (a RD of 0 indicates no disparity exists). RD measures the absolute range of IR across all R/E groups. TheBlack non-Hispanic R/E group had the highest age-adjusted IR of MF, ranging from 0.53 to 1.30 cases per 100,000. Moreover, RD increased for males: 0.79 to 1.06, a 34.2% change; and for females: 0.77 to 1.02, a 31.9% change. These nation-wide findings indicate that R/E disparities in IR for MF have increased using the range difference measure, particularly f...

Research has shown that the principal cause of cetuximab-induced anaphylaxis is antioligosaccharide IgE antibodies specific for galactose-a-1,3-galactose (a-Gal) present on the mouse-derived Fab portion of the cetuximab heavy chain. Furthermore, it has been revealed that patients who are allergic to cetuximab also develop an allergic reaction to mammalian meat containing the a-Gal owing to cross-reactivity, and the presumed cause of sensitization

Background: Crustacean groups such as shrimp is one of the most frequent causes of food allergic reaction in Japan as well as western countries. Cross-reactivity between crustaceans and other molluscs has been widely reported in shrimp-sensitive subjects. The purpose of study is to see an involvement of tropomyosin in the development of shrimp allergy in Japan. Methods: A total of 21 patients with shrimp allergy and 5 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) who had no history of allergic reaction to shrimp but positive tropomyosin-specific IgE test were enrolled. Shrimp allergy patients were divided into three groups based on their symptoms: group I (oral allergy syndrome: OAS), group II (Urticaria), and group III (others). Tropomyosin-specific IgE was determined with CAP-fluorescent enzyme immunoassay and using IgE immunoblot. Involvement of carbohydrate in IgE-binding to allergens was examined by sodium periodate treatment. Results: Tropomyosin-specific IgE was detective in 4 (rate 50%) and positive in 3 (rate 37.5%) of the 8 patients in group I, detective in 3 (rate 30%) and positive in 1 (rate 10%) of the 10 patients in group II, and detective in 1 (rate 33.3%) and positive in 1 (rate 33.3%) in the 3 patients in group III. Upon IgE immunoblotting, serum IgE binding to purified tropomyosin was detected in the 5 patients with shrimp allergy; 3 patients in group I, 1 patient in group II, and 1 patient in group III, whereas no binding was seen in the 5 patients with AD. The IgE binding to 34-35 kDa bands was well compatible with the result of tropomyosin-specific IgE test. Periodate treatment indicated that the IgE-binding is not mediated by carbohydrate-moieties. Conclusion: Tropomyosin is minor but distinct allergen in the patients with shrimp allergy in Japan.