title: The involvement of thaumatin-like proteins in plant food cross-reactivity: a multicenter study using a specific protein microarray.
abstract: Cross-reactivity of plant foods is an important phenomenon in allergy, with geographical variations with respect to the number and prevalence of the allergens involved in this process, whose complexity requires detailed studies. We have addressed the role of thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) in cross-reactivity between fruit and pollen allergies. A representative panel of 16 purified TLPs was printed onto an allergen microarray. The proteins selected belonged to the sources most frequently associated with peach allergy in representative regions of Spain. Sera from two groups of well characterized patients, one with allergy to Rosaceae fruit (FAG) and another against pollens but tolerant to food-plant allergens (PAG), were obtained from seven geographical areas with different environmental pollen profiles. Cross-reactivity between members of this family was demonstrated by inhibition assays. Only 6 out of 16 purified TLPs showed noticeable allergenic activity in the studied populations. Pru p 2.0201, the peach TLP (41%), chestnut TLP (24%) and plane pollen TLP (22%) proved to be allergens of probable relevance to fruit allergy, being mainly associated with pollen sensitization, and strongly linked to specific geographical areas such as Barcelona, Bilbao, the Canary Islands and Madrid. The patients exhibited >50% positive response to Pru p 2.0201 and to chestnut TLP in these specific areas. Therefore, their recognition patterns were associated with the geographical area, suggesting a role for pollen in the sensitization of these allergens. Finally, the co-sensitizations of patients considering pairs of TLP allergens were analyzed by using the co-sensitization graph associated with an allergen microarray immunoassay. Our data indicate that TLPs are significant allergens in plant food allergy and should be considered when diagnosing and treating pollen-food allergy.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Arantxa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palacín
authors.forename: Luis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rivas
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gómez-Casado
authors.forename: Jacobo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aguirre
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tordesillas
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bartra
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Carrillo
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cuesta-Herranz
authors.forename: José A Cumplido
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bonny
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: Mar G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: García-Alvarez-Eire
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: García-Nuñez
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gamboa
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Monge
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Susana Varela
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Losada
authors.forename: Mayte
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villalba
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vega
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parro
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blanca
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salcedo
authors.forename: Araceli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Díaz-Perales
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000009:adverse effects; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D005638:Fruit / Q000276:immunology; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007118:Immunoassay; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology; D040081:Protein Array Analysis; D013030:Spain; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; C003427:thaumatin protein, plant