Identification of Soybean Proteins Responsible for Respiratory Allergies

Abstract

Serum samples from 32 patients who suffered attacks during the asthma outbreaks of 1987 and 1988 in Cartagena, Spain, supposedly caused by soybean dust, were studied. At least 90% had specific IgE to shell components and only 13% showed specific IgE to shell-depleted soybean grains. A control group of 32 patients who also suffered asthma attacks but on different days from those of the outbreaks were negative. The shell’s most important allergen with an apparent molecular weight of 8 kDa was not present in shell-depleted grains. This allergen as well as other less important shell allergens may be different from the allergens already identified by using serum from patients suffering food allergy to soya.

Occupational allergens

“…Studies identified a 14-kD glycoprotein present in the soybean hull as the main allergen in soybean dust-related asthma [28,29]. This allergen is different from the allergen responsible for causing food allergy to soy.…”

4. Potential Human Health Impacts

“…Similarly, while food allergens often constitute a significant portion of a food's proteins, as mentioned previously, the potency of an allergen may compensate for its relative paucity in a food, and some major allergens such as codfish Gad c l are present only in small proportions of the food. Likewise, some protein allergens have low molecular weight, such as the 9-kD plant lipid transfer proteins (LTP), which are important allergens of the Prunoideae family, which includes peaches, plums, and cherries (Breiteneder & Ebner, 2000;Rodriguez et al, 2000); LTP from barley used in beer foam formation (Curioni et al, 1999); and the 8-kD soybean hull protein responsible for asthma outbreaks in Spain (Gonzalez et al, 1991). Interestingly, heating some allergenic proteins may actually increase their allergenicit y, in some instances by chemical glycosyl ation (Maillard reaction ).…”

Gly m 5/Gly m 8 fusion component as a potential novel candidate molecule for diagnosing soya bean allergy in Japanese children

“…11,12 Eight soya bean proteins have been registered in the World Health Organization and International Union of Immunological Societies (WHO/IUIS) Allergen Nomenclature Subcommittee. 18 Gly m 3 (profilin), a homologue of Bet v 2, was identified through determining sIgE antibody levels in individuals with food allergies in Germany. 7,[13][14][15][16] Gly m 5 and Gly m 6 are composed of several subunits (Gly m 5: α subunit Gly m 5.0101, α' subunit Gly m 5.0201, and β subunit Gly m 5.0301; Gly m 6: A1aB1b subunit Gly m 6.0101, A2B1a subunit Gly m 6.0201, A1bB2 subunit Gly m 6.0301, A5A4B3 subunit Gly m 6.0401, and A3B4 subunit Gly m 6.0501).…”