title: Seafood allergy and allergens: a review.
abstract: Seafoods are composed of diverse sea organisms and humans are allergic to many of them. Tropomyosin is a major allergen in many shellfish, especially crustacea and mollusks. Interestingly, tropomyosin has also been identified as an important allergen in other invertebrates including dust mites and cockroaches, and it has been proposed by some to be an invertebrate pan allergen. Different regions of shrimp tropomyosin bind IgE; 5 major IgE-binding regions have been identified in shrimp tropomyosin containing 8 epitopes. Mutations of these shrimp allergenic epitopes can reduce seafood allergenicity; methods utilizing such mutations will provide safer vaccines for more effective treatment of seafood-allergic patients, and in the future less-allergenic seafood products for consumption.
authors.affiliation: Tulane University Health Sciences Center, Department of Medicine, Section of Clinical Immunology, Allergy & Rheumatology 1700 Perdido St. (SL-57), New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. sblehrer@tulane.edu
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Lehrer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ayuso
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reese
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens; D000939:Epitopes / Q000235:genetics; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation / Q000276:immunology*; D017747:Seafood / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014335:Tropomyosin / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D000939:Epitopes; D014335:Tropomyosin; D007073:Immunoglobulin E