Important Variations in Parvalbumin Content in Common Fish Species: A Factor Possibly Contributing to Variable Allergenicity

Abstract

Background: Although 95% of fish-allergic patients are sensitized to the major fish allergen parvalbumin, clinical reactions to different fish species vary considerably in symptoms, intensity and frequency in allergic subjects. This study aimed at the quantification of parvalbumin levels in salmon, trout, cod, carp, mackerel, herring, redfish and tuna. Methods: Fish muscle extracts were separated by SDS-PAGE and parvalbumin content was estimated by densitometric band quantification. Individual antisera were raised in BALB/c mice against parvalbumins purified from seven fish species. Parvalbumin content was quantified in fish (raw/processed) and skin prick test (SPT) solutions by ELISA using the corresponding anti-serum for detection and the purified parvalbumins as standards. Results: Using SDS-PAGE scanning, parvalbumin contents were <0.5 mg per gram tissue for mackerel, 0.5–2 mg for salmon and trout, and >2 mg for cod, carp, redfish and herring. Using ELISA, parvalbumin content ranged from <0.05 mg for tuna, 0.3–0.7 mg for mackerel, 1–2.5 mg for salmon, trout and cod to >2.5 mg per gram raw muscle for carp, herring and redfish. The parvalbumin content of processed samples (cooked/commercial) was 20–60% lower. Allergen content in SPT samples ranged from 20 to 70 µg parvalbumin/ml of extract. No parvalbumin was found in tuna SPT solution. Conclusion: The parvalbumin content of most commonly consumed fish species varies considerably. Differences range from severalfold to one hundredfold. This has to be taken into account when designing food challenge tests and advising fish-allergic patients.

Identification of Parvalbumin and Two New Thermolabile Major Allergens of Thunnus tonggol Using a Proteomics Approach

“…Teleost fish, including tuna, has two types of muscles: white and dark muscles, and the allergenicity of the muscles mostly depends on the parvalbumin content [5,38]. Parvalbumin, the major and cross-reactive allergen in multiple fish species, is found more abundant in the white than in the dark muscle, and therefore the white muscle is more allergenic [5,35,38].…”

“…Parvalbumin, the major and cross-reactive allergen in multiple fish species, is found more abundant in the white than in the dark muscle, and therefore the white muscle is more allergenic [5,35,38]. The parvalbumin content also varies significantly among different fish species [5,38,39], and it was much lower in yellowtail tuna than in other species of fish [5,38]. It was also reported that Gad c 1, Sal s 1, The c 1, herring and wolffish contained the most potent cross-reacting allergens, whereas tuna, together with halibut, flounder, and mackerel, were the least allergenic fish [16].…”

Immunological cross-reactivity between four distant parvalbumins—Impact on allergen detection and diagnostics

“…This verifies that is not only difficult to detect interspecific parvalbumin forms using antibodies, but also intraspecific parvalbumins as they can differ greatly. Detection of fish parvalbumins is further complicated by the impact of food processing such as cooking and canning which may degrade or alter tertiary and quaternary structures of parvalbumin, inhibiting the detection by antibodies (Kuehn et al, 2010).…”

Characterization of Seafood Proteins Causing Allergic Diseases

“…The fish major allergen, parvalbumin, was quantified for the first time by Lopata et al (2005) in its aerosolized form . Recently, this method was applied for the evaluation of fish allergen levels in foodstuff (Faeste & Plassen, 2008), and for comparing the parvalbumin levels in different species (Kuehn et al, 2010). Commercially, there is only one ELISA kit available for detection of crustacean' allergens in foodstuff: however there is none available for the fish allergens.…”