Soy allergy in perspective.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss studies on soy allergy.


RESULTS
In Central Europe soy is a clinically relevant birch pollen-related allergenic food. Crossreaction is mediated by a Bet v 1 homologous protein, Gly m 4. Additionally, birch pollen allergic patients might acquire through Bet v 1 sensitization allergies to mungbean or peanut, in which Vig r 1 and Ara h 8 are the main cross-reactive allergens. Threshold doses in soy allergic individuals range from 10 mg to 50 g of soy and are more than one order of magnitude higher than in peanut allergy. No evidence was found for increased allergenicity of genetically modified soybeans.


CONCLUSIONS
In Europe, both primary and pollen-related food allergy exist. The diagnosis of legume allergy in birch pollen-sensitized patients should not be excluded on a negative IgE testing to legume extracts. Bet v 1 related allergens are often underrepresented in extracts. Gly m 4 from soy and Ara h 8 from peanut are nowadays commercially available and are recommended in birch pollen allergic patients with suspicion of soy or peanut allergy, but negative extract-based diagnostic tests to screen for IgE specific to these recombinant allergens.
Allergy Unit, Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. barbara.ballmer@usz.ch
Barbara K
BK
Ballmer-Weber
Stefan
S
Vieths
D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects*; D052179:Antigens, Plant / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000639:trends; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D018716:Molecular Mimicry; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013025:Glycine max / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology; D040681:Structural Homology, Protein
D000485:Allergens; D052179:Antigens, Plant; C530536:Gly m 4 allergen, Glycine max; C090803:Gly m I protein, Glycine max; D010940:Plant Proteins