Allergenicity assessment and allergen profile analysis of different Chinese wheat cultivars

Abstract

Backgrounds As one of the most important cereals, wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) can cause severe allergic reactions, such as baker's asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis. A growing number of people are developing allergies to Chinese wheat; however, only a few wheat cultivars have been screened on allergenicity in China. Objective The aim of the present study was to assess the allergenicity of different Chinese wheat cultivars and characterize wheat allergen profiles of patients with allergic rhinitis. Methods We determined protein (soluble protein, gliadin, and glutenin) composition in Chinese wheat by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and the immunoglobulin E (IgE) binding capacity by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot using 10 positive sera from wheat allergy patients. We identified 5 gel bands with significant IgE binding capacity using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results Soluble protein, albumin, and globulin, showed the highest allergenicity, followed by gliadin, while glutenin only had slight allergenicity. In soluble protein, 5 protein bands with molecular weights of 27, 28, 53, 58, and 62 kDa showed very significant allergenicity. Meanwhile, the relative abundances of 28 kDa-protein and 58 kDa-protein were significantly positively correlated with the IgE-binding capacity of Chinese wheat cultivars, which were identified as rRNA N-glycosidase and β-amylase, respectively, among other proteins in those highly complex gel bands. Conclusion and clinical relevance 28 kDa-protein (rRNA N-glycosidase) and 58 kDa-protein (β-amylase) were speculated to be the main allergens of Chinese wheat causing baker's asthma and allergic rhinitis. These results provide new insights into the prevention and treatment of wheat allergy and the development of hypoallergenic wheat products, whose clinical significance is worth further evaluation.

Glucose/Ribitol Dehydrogenase and 16.9 kDa Class I Heat Shock Protein 1 as Novel Wheat Allergens in Baker’s Respiratory Allergy

“…When dealing with bakers allergic to wheat flour, other variables should be considered like the specific wheat cultivars utilized in milling, and other factors that could produce different allergen content and expression in flours. Although it seems that there are no clinically significant differences in the allergenicity of wheat of different species, without considering the more than 25,000 cultivars, the different clinical symptoms and allergenassociated could vary with the different wheat species or patients in different regions [29,30]. In addition, different populations may show different responses to allergens in relationship to other environmental factors or genetic characteristics [31].…”

Maternal Influences and Intervention Strategies on the Development of Food Allergy in Offspring

“…The term "allergy" describes an adverse immune response initiated by the host's immune system upon exposure to a given substance that is generally harmless in the environment. Statistical analysis has shown that allergen-induced food allergies affect approximately 2.5% (ranging from 1% to 10%) of the world's general population (1)(2)(3). Over the past several decades, food allergy has emerged unexpectedly as a "second wave" of the allergy epidemic, with an increasing number of infants and children afflicted with the disease from developing and developed countries worldwide (4)(5)(6).…”

Russian Science Foundation grant No. 20-14-00140 supported this study. The authors are thankful to the multi-access Center “Bioinformatics” for the use of computational resources as supported by Russian government project FWNR-2022-0020 and the Russian Federal Science and Technology Program for the Development of Genetic Technologies.

“…Accordingly, plant genes were analyzed that are homolo gous to three T. aestivum genes encoding food allergens β-amylase, albumin, and globulin, earlier identified as targets for human IgE (Wang et al, 2021). Thus, 363 homologous genes were investigated belonging to 28 and 15 species of food plants and nonfood plants, respectively.…”

“…Nucleotide sequences of plant gene promoters analyzed in this work. Three allergenic proteins from common wheat T. aestivum were investigated: β-amylase, albumin, and globu lin, which have previously been experimentally identified as targets for human class E immunoglobulins (Wang et al, 2021). From the GenBank database (Benson et al, 2015), nu cleotide sequences of 90 bp proximal promoters were retrieved that are located immediately upstream of transcription start sites of plant genes homologous to the genes of β-amylase, albumin, and globulin from common wheat T. aestivum.…”

“…The aim of our work was to search at the molecular genetic level for signs of negative selection against allergens during the domestication of ancestral forms of modern food plants. Three food allergens from common wheat Triticum aestivum L. (1753) were studied: β-amylase, albumin, and globulin, previously identified as targets of allergic reactions mediated by human class E immunoglobulins (Wang et al, 2021).…”