Identification of major rice allergen and their clinical significance in children.
OBJECTIVE
Recently, an increase in the number of patients sensitized to rice allergen with or without clinical symptoms has been reported. This study was designed to determine the major allergens in rice and their clinical significance.


METHODS
Twenty-four children (15 boys and 9 girls; mean age, 16.3 months) with allergic disease, who were sensitized to rice antigen (by UniCAP) in the Pediatric Allergy Respiratory Center at Soonchunhyang University Hospital, were enrolled in this study. The allergenicity of various types of rice (raw, cooked, and heat-treated, simulated gastric fluid [SGF], and simulated intestinal fluid [SIF]) was investigated using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoglobulin E (IgE) immunoblots. The patients' medical records, including laboratory data and allergy symptoms after ingestion of rice were reviewed.


RESULTS
Patients were sensitized to an average of 13.5 food antigens and their mean total IgE was 6,888.7 kU/L. In SDS-PAGE, more than 16 protein bands were observed in the raw rice, whereas only 14-16 kDa and 31-35 kDa protein bands were observed in cooked rice. The common SDS-PAGE protein bands observed in SGF-, SIF-, and heat-treated rice were 9, 14, and 31 kDa. In a heated-rice IgE immunoblot, protein bands of 9, 14, and 31-33 kDa were found in 27.8%, 38.9%, and 38.9% of all sera, respectively, and in 50%, 50%, and 75%, of ser a from the 4 symptomatic patients, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The 9-, 14-, and 31-kDa protein bands appeared to be the major allergens responsible for rice allergy symptoms.
Department of Pediatrics, Soonchunhyang University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
You Hoon
YH
Jeon
Se Jo
SJ
Oh
Hyeon Jong
HJ
Yang
Soo Young
SY
Lee
Bok Yang
BY
Pyun