In silico Identification of Sequential Similarities of Selected Lipid Transfer Proteins

Abstract

Nonspecific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTP) are common allergens discovered and described 40 years ago. They are present in many plant species and protect plants from stressors such as heat and drought. Studies on the peach nsLTP, Pru p 3, show that nsLTP are very cross-reactive through presented IgE epitopes shared by nsLTP from other botanically related fruits. These allergens are to varying degrees resistant to heat and digestion, and sensitization may occur through the oral, cutaneous, or inhaled routes. In the last years, several web tools for the prediction of allergenicity of new molecules based on their homology with known allergens have been created, and have established guidelines to assess potential allergenicity of proteins through bioinformatics. Here, Allerbase and NCBI Protein BLAST were applied to characterize the protein sequences of nsLTPs of plant species -Malus domestica Borkh., Prunus persica (L.) Batsch., Daucus carota (L.), Vitis vinifera (L.) and Solanum lycopersicum (L.). Obtained primary data were evaluated by the algorithm NCBI BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tools). This tool allows searching similar protein sequences, in this case, was used Protein BLAST for comparing protein sequences. Most of the analysed sequences displayed a high probability of being allergenic according to the high sequencing identity and sharing IgE epitopes to each other. The highest sequencing identity in preselected plant species was presented between Pru p 3 (isoform Pru p 3.0102) and Mal d 3 (isoform Mal d 3.0101), 91.32% and they share the same epitope, NNA. The lowest sequencing homology was identified between Mal d 3.0203 and Dau c LTP, 43.10% and they did not share any epitope to each other.