title: Atopic allergens of plant foods.
abstract: The exact knowledge of what structural characteristics of an antigen are responsible for its allergenicity may not be available for several years. However, it is striking that the majority of the plant food allergens are clustered within a few protein families, and these are reviewed in this article. In most cases, plant food allergens are proteins that ensure the survival of the species as either seed storage proteins or proteins that are actively involved in the defence of the organism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, University of Vienna, General Hospital, Vienna, Austria. heimo.breiteneder@akh-wien.ac.at
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Breiteneder
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ebner
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D002688:Chitinases / Q000276:immunology; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000276:immunology; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000209:etiology*; D043326:Glucan 1,3-beta-Glucosidase; D006801:Humans; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D010945:Plants, Edible / Q000276:immunology*; D055314:Seed Storage Proteins; D001617:beta-Glucosidase / Q000276:immunology; D000097793:Legumins
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D002688:Chitinases; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; D043326:Glucan 1,3-beta-Glucosidase; D010940:Plant Proteins; D055314:Seed Storage Proteins; D001617:beta-Glucosidase; D000097793:Legumins; C511920:lipid transfer proteins, plant; C015575:vicilin protein, plant