title: Decreased immunoglobulin E (IgE) binding to cashew allergens following sodium sulfite treatment and heating.
abstract: Cashew nut and other nut allergies can result in serious and sometimes life-threatening reactions. Linear and conformational epitopes within food allergens are important for immunoglobulin E (IgE) binding. Methods that disrupt allergen structure can lower IgE binding and lessen the likelihood of food allergy reactions. Previous structural and biochemical data have indicated that 2S albumins from tree nuts and peanuts are potent allergens, and that their structures are sensitive to strong reducing agents such as dithiothreitol. This study demonstrates that the generally regarded as safe (GRAS) compound sodium sulfite effectively disrupted the structure of the cashew 2S albumin, Ana o 3, in a temperature-dependent manner. This study also showed that sulfite is effective at disrupting the disulfide bond within the cashew legumin, Ana o 2. Immunoblotting and ELISA demonstrated that the binding of cashew proteins by rabbit IgG or IgE from cashew-allergic patients was markedly lowered following treatment with sodium sulfite and heating. The results indicate that incorporation of sodium sulfite, or other food grade reagents with similar redox potential, may be useful processing methods to lower or eliminate IgE binding to food allergens.
authors.affiliation: Southern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, New Orleans, Louisiana 70124, United States.
authors.forename: Christopher P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Mattison
authors.forename: Wendy A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Desormeaux
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Wasserman
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshioka-Tarver
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Condon
authors.forename: Casey C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Grimm
mesh_terms: D055516:2S Albumins, Plant / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D031021:Anacardium / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D052179:Antigens, Plant / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000378:metabolism*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009754:Nuts / Q000276:immunology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D013447:Sulfites / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D055516:2S Albumins, Plant; D000485:Allergens; C478880:Ana o 2 allergen, cashew; C502483:Ana o 3 protein, Anacardium occidentale; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D010940:Plant Proteins; D013447:Sulfites; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; C025026:sodium sulfite