title: Enhancement of tomato allergenicity after treatment with plant hormones.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Practical applications to enhance the productivity of agriculture by using plants with improved resistance to pathogens are expected to increase in the near future. Although tomato has been widely investigated for breeding purposes, there have been no studies on tomato allergenicity after plant hormones treatments.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prick by prick tests were carried out with different tomato samples (fruits grown under biological conditions without addition of chemical products, and treated with ethylene and salicylic acid) in eight patients with ages between 12 and 27 years who suffered from anaphylaxis episodes after eating raw tomatoes. An immunoblot experiment with the different tomato extracts was performed using sera from these eight patients and controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The wheals obtained in prick tests were significantly higher with the extracts of tomato treated with ethylene and SAA (chi(2) = 31.3, p < 0.0001) and the patients who presented higher wheal diameters in skin tests were those who had more severe episodes of anaphylaxis. Neither the protein stain nor the IgE immunodetection patterns clearly varied between the untreated and the hormone-treated samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the case of anaphylaxis induced by tomato, the treatment with plant hormones induced a higher cutaneous response than with non-treated tomato, but the "in vitro" response was similar.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Río Hortega, Seccíon de Alergia, Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Armentia
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Callejo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Díaz-Perales
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Martín-Gil
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salcedo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016573:Agrochemicals / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000485:Allergens / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000209:etiology*; D000799:Angioedema / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D003429:Cross Reactions; D023082:Defensins; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D058870:Food, Organic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012882:Skin Tests
chemical_list: D016573:Agrochemicals; D000485:Allergens; D023082:Defensins; D005030:Ethylenes; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; C036216:ethylene; D020156:Salicylic Acid