title: Significance of Ara h 2 in clinical reactivity and effect of cooking methods on allergenicity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence and clinical severity of peanut allergy vary between Western countries and Asia. It has been suggested that cooking methods are responsible for this discrepancy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the specific IgE responses to major peanut allergens in peanut allergic Korean children and to examine the influence of different cooking methods on peanut proteins.
  
  
  METHODS
  Raw peanut protein extracts were immunolabeled with serum samples from 42 children with a level of peanut specific IgE of 15 kUA/L or higher to detect specific binding to Ara h 1, Ara h 2, and Ara h 3. Clinical severity scores were assessed on a scale of 0 to 5. Protein extracts from boiled, roasted, fried, and pickled peanuts were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting with pooled serum samples from 7 patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most patients' serum samples reacted with Ara h 1 (76.2%) and Ara h 3 (78.6%) from raw peanuts, whereas only 53.0% of patients had specific IgE against Ara h 2. IgE binding to Ara h 2 was more prevalent in patients with more severe reaction than in those with mild reactions. IgE binding to Ara h 2 was increased by roasting, but there was significantly less IgE binding after vinegar treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that Ara h 2 is an important allergen to predict clinical symptoms but less prevalent in Korean children than in Western children. This finding may be attributed in part to different cooking methods and dietary habits among regions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jihyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jin Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Youngshin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Kangmo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahn
mesh_terms: D055516:2S Albumins, Plant / Q000276:immunology*; D052179:Antigens, Plant / Q000276:immunology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D021183:Peanut Hypersensitivity / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D055516:2S Albumins, Plant; D052179:Antigens, Plant; C500890:Ara h 2 allergen, Arachis hypogaea; D006023:Glycoproteins; D007073:Immunoglobulin E