The Major Soybean Allergen Gly m Bd 28K Induces Hypersensitivity Reactions in Mice Sensitized to Cow's Milk Proteins

Animal-derived food allergen: A review on the available crystal structure and new insights into structural epitope

Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergy is a rapidly growing public health problem. The interaction between allergens and IgE is at the core of the allergic response. One of the best ways to understand this interaction is through structural characterization. This review focuses on animal-derived food allergens, overviews allergen structures determined by X-ray crystallography, presents an update on IgE conformational epitopes, and explores the structural features of these epitopes. The structural determinants of allergenicity and cross-reactivity are also discussed. Animal-derived food allergens are classified into limited protein families according to structural features, with the calcium-binding protein and actin-binding protein families dominating. Progress in epitope characterization has provided useful information on the structural properties of the IgE recognition region. The data reveals that epitopes are located in relatively protruding areas with negative surface electrostatic potential. Ligand binding and disulfide bonds are two intrinsic characteristics that influence protein structure and impact allergenicity. Shared structures, local motifs, and shared epitopes are factors that lead to cross-reactivity. The structural properties of epitope regions and structural determinants of allergenicity and cross-reactivity may provide directions for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of food allergies. Experimentally determined structure, especially that of antigen-antibody complexes, remains limited, and the identification of epitopes continues to be a bottleneck in the study of animal-derived food allergens. A combination of traditional immunological techniques and emerging bioinformatics technology will revolutionize how protein interactions are characterized.

Evaluation of allergenicity of cow milk treated with enzymatic hydrolysis through a mouse model of allergy

Cow milk (CM) allergy is a worldwide concern. Currently, few studies have been performed on the immunoreactivity of CM and fewer still on the antigenicity of CM in vivo and in vitro. In this study, we assessed the potential allergenicity of enzymatically hydrolyzed CM using in vitro ELISA and oral sensitization and challenge of BALB/c mice. Alcalase-, Protamex-, and Flavourzyme-treated CM (all from Novozymes) diminished IgE binding capacity, with greatest reductions of 56.31%, 50.62%, and 56.45%, respectively. Allergic symptoms and levels of total IgG1 were reduced, and allergic inflammation of the lung, jejunum, and spleen was relieved. Moreover, the numbers of CD8+ T and B220+ cells decreased, and the balance of CD4+ T/CD8+ T cells was effectively regulated. These findings suggest that the potential allergenicity of CM was reduced by enzymatic hydrolysis, and our research will lay a solid foundation for developing high-quality hypoallergenic CM products.

Evaluation of cross-reactivity between casein components using inhibition assay and in silico analysis

BACKGROUND

We previously reported that the specific IgE levels to αs1-casein (CN) and β-CN in patients with cow's milk allergy decreased with similar dynamics during oral immunotherapy. Therefore, we hypothesized that αs1- and β-CN have strong cross-reactivity among CN components, despite the low similarity in the full-length amino acid sequences.

METHODS

The αs1-, β-, and κ-CN were purified from commercial cow's milk. We recruited 39 patients with cow's milk allergy, and the serum IgE levels for each CN component were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Cross-reactivity between CN components was investigated by competitive ELISA against αs1-CN. Sequence homology between CN components at the peptide level was calculated using in silico analysis and quantified by the property distance (PD) value.

RESULTS

The αs1-CN-specific IgE levels exhibited a strong positive correlation with the β-CN-specific IgE (r = 0.945, P < .001). Complete competition was observed by β-CN against αs1-CN, suggesting the presence of common epitopes between them. In silico analysis detected 24 peptide sets with PD values lower than 10 between αs1- and β-CN, and 14 sets between αs1- and κ-CN. The amino acid sequences of αs1-CN (E61-E70) and β-CN (I12-E21) that showed the lowest PD value (5.30) were present in the characteristic sequence known as casein phosphopeptide (CPP).

CONCLUSION

We detected strong cross-reactivity between CN components. Furthermore, we found highly homologous sequences in the CPP region, which contains a core sequence of "SSSEE" with phosphorylated serine residues.

A novel approach to ameliorate experimental milk allergy based on the oral administration of a short soy cross-reactive peptide

Food allergy is on the rise, and preventive/therapeutic procedures are needed. We explored a preventive protocol for milk allergy with the oral administration of a Gly-m-Bd-30K soy-derived peptide that contains cross-reactive epitopes with bovine caseins. B/T-cross-reactive epitopes were mapped using milk-specific human sera and monoclonal antibodies on overlapping and recombinant peptides of Gly-m-Bd-30K by SPOT and cell proliferation assays. Bioinformatics tools were used to characterize epitopes on the 3D-modelled molecule, and to predict the binding to HLA alleles. The peptide was orally administrated to mice that were then IgE-sensitized to milk proteins. Immunodominant B-epitopes were mainly located on the surface of the Nt-fragment. The use of a soy-peptide-containing an immunodominant cross-reactive T-epitope, along with a single B epitope, prevents IgE-mediated milk sensitization through the induction of Th1-mediated immunity and induction of blocking IgG. The use of a safe soy-peptide may represent a promising alternative for preventing milk allergy.

Immunoglobulin E and immunoglobulin G cross-reactive allergens and epitopes between cow milk αS1-casein and soybean proteins

Some infants allergic to cow milk-based formula are also sensitive to soybean-based formula. This paper aimed to explore the association of IgE and IgG cross-reactivity between αS1-casein in cow milk (CM) and soybean proteins. The IgE and IgG cross-reactive allergens and epitopes were identified using sera from infants allergic to CM or mice monoclonal antibodies. The AA sequence alignment was performed using bioinformatics software. Finally, the digestion and heating stability of the cross-reactive allergen were explored by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-PAGE and Western blotting. The results showed that the IgE and IgG cross-reactive allergen was α subunit of β-conglycinin named Gly m Bd 60K. The IgE and IgG epitopes were the sequences at AA 319-341 and AA 164-182. No intact Gly m Bd 60K allergen could be observed after 2 min in simulated gastric fluid by SDS-PAGE. Heating did not change IgE and IgG cross-reactivity by Western blotting. Therefore, the existence of cross-reactivity between CM αS1-casein and soybean proteins possibly contributes to the frequently observed cosensitization for these allergens in cow milk-allergic patients. The same IgE- and IgG-binding epitopes of cross-reactive allergens may provide important information for elucidation of the association between IgG and IgE antibody generation.

Highly Sensitive Detection of Bovine β-Lactoglobulin with Wide Linear Dynamic Range Based on Platinum Nanoparticles Probe

Cow's milk allergy is one of the most frequent and severe IgE-induced food allergies for children, demanding sensitive analytical methods, and β-lactoglobulin (BLG) can be as an important biomarker for detection of milk protein. In this study, a highly sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (sELISA) based on a specific polyclonal antibody against human IgE linear epitopes of BLG and an anti-BLG polyclonal antibody-platinum nanoparticles probe was described for detection of BLG. This sELISA exhibited an ultrawide linear range of 0.49-1.6 × 10⁴ ng/mL, covering more than four orders of magnitude. The limit of detection was 0.12 ng/mL, which was 16-fold lower than that using traditional sELISA with the same antibodies. Furthermore, the proposed approach showed high recoveries (93.53%-111.95%) and low coefficient of variation (1.49%-12.50%) after analysis of samples fortified with BLG. The presence of allergenic BLG residues also could be detected in partially hydrolyzed infant formulas. These results, in comparison with conventional and commercial BLG detection sELISAs, highlight that this proposed sELISA could be a reliable and user-friendly tool to monitor trace amounts of BLG and its potentially allergenic residues in foods.

Identification of cross-reactive B-cell epitopes between Bos d 9.0101(Bos Taurus) and Gly m 5.0101 (Glycine max) by epitope mapping MALDI-TOF MS

Exposure to cow's milk constitutes one of the most common causes of food allergy. In addition, exposure to soy proteins has become relevant in a restricted proportion of milk allergic pediatric patients treated with soy formulae as a dairy substitute, because of the cross-allergenicity described between soy and milk proteins. We have previously identified several cross-reactive allergens between milk and soy that may explain this intolerance. The purpose of the present work was to identify epitopes in the purified αS1-casein and the recombinant soy allergen Gly m 5.0101 (Gly m 5) using an α-casein-specific monoclonal antibody (1D5 mAb) through two different approaches for epitope mapping, to understand cross-reactivity between milk and soy. The 1D5 mAb was immobilized onto magnetic beads, incubated with the peptide mixture previously obtained by enzymatic digestion of the allergens, and the captured peptides were identified by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. On a second approach, the peptide mixture was resolved by RP-HPLC and immunodominant peptides were identified by dot blot with the mAb. Finally, recognized peptides were sequenced by MALDI-TOF MS. This novel MS based approach led us to identify and characterize four peptides on α-casein and three peptides on Gly m 5 with a common core motif. Information obtained from these cross-reactive epitopes allows us to gain valuable insight into the molecular mechanisms of cross-reactivity, to further develop new and more effective vaccines for food allergy.

Comparison of Allergenicity at Gly m 4 and Gly m Bd 30K of Soybean after Genetic Modification

Despite rapid growth of genetically modified (GM) crops, effective evaluations of genetic modification on allergenicity are still lacking. Gly m Bd 30K is cross-reactive with cow's milk protein casein, Gly m 4, and with birch pollen allergen Bet v 1. Here we compared the allergenicity between GM and non-GM soybeans with respect to the foci Gly m 4 and Gly m Bd 30K. Recombinant allergens of Gly m Bd 30K and Gly m 4 were generated and polyclonal antibodies raised to identify these two allergenic components in soybeans. GM soybean was first PCR-confirmed using 35S promoter. A total of 20 soybeans (half GM, half non-GM) obtained from a food market were used to assess their allergenicity based on IgE-binding and histamine release. The concentrations of Gly m Bd 30K and Gly m 4 in soybeans were then determined. Most soybean-allergic patients (9 of 10) showed IgE-positive reactions to the allergen of 30 kDa in molecular weight. That allergen turned out to be Glycine max Gly m Bd 30K based on LC-MS/MS analyses. Gly m Bd 30K is therefore the major allergen in the soybean. An increase in the transcription of both the Gly m 4 (stress-induced protein SAM22) and Gly m Bd 28K (soybean allergen precursor) was found after genetic modification. The protein concentrations of Gly m 4 and Gly m Bd 30K were not statistically significant different between non-GM and GM soybeans. There were also no statistical significances between them in the tests of IgE binding and histamine release. In conclusion, soybeans showed similar concentrations of Gly m Bd 30K and Gly m 4 regardless of genetic modification or absence thereof. The allergenicity of both Gly m Bd 30K and Gly m 4 was therefore not altered after genetic modification. Patients showing hypersensitivity to soybeans and who had pre-existing allergy to birch pollen and cow's milk casein might not further increase their allergic reactions following exposures to the GM soybeans.

Mass Spectrometric Analysis of N-Glycoforms of Soybean Allergenic Glycoproteins Separated by SDS-PAGE

Glycosylation of many proteins has been revealed to be closely related with food allergies, and screening and structural analysis of related glycoproteins and glycoallergens are essential for studies in this field. Herein, we describe detailed N-glycoform analysis of all glycoprotein fractions of soybean protein isolate (SPI) separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to disclose structural features of the glycan moieties of more soybean glycoproteins. SPI was fractionated by SDS-PAGE, and the generated protein bands were recovered and subjected to in-gel N-glycan release and labeling using a one-pot method newly developed by our group, followed by detailed analysis by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and online hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-ESI-MS/MS). As a result, we found seven bands mainly containing oligomannose-type glycans; two mainly contain core α1,3-fucosylated glycans, and six have no glycans. This study is the first report that discovers core α1,3-fucosylated N-glycans in bands 1, 2, and 6 and discloses bands 3, 4, 5, and 7 as glycoproteins and their N-glycoforms. Therefore, it can expand our knowledge about soybean protein glycosylation and provide significant structural reference for research of soybean allergens.