Abstract
Shellfish allergy affects approximately 2% of the population and can cause immediate hypersensitivity reactions such as urticaria, swelling, difficulty breathing, and, in some cases, anaphylaxis. Tropomyosin is the major shrimp allergen and binds IgE in two-thirds of patients. A total of 38 shrimp-allergic patients and 20 negative control subjects were recruited and evaluated on the basis of history, skin prick testing, specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, and peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation in response to shrimp tropomyosin or shrimp tropomyosin-derived peptides. Of the classically allergic patients by history, 59% tested positive for serum shrimp IgE antibodies. Of patients with shrimp-specific IgE in sera, 70% also had significant IgE levels specific for shrimp tropomyosin. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from classically shrimp-allergic patients proliferated in a dose-dependent manner in response to to tropomyosin. In addition, a T-cell line derived from a shrimp-allergic patient proliferated specifically in response to tropomyosin-derived peptides. These studies suggest a strategy for immunotherapy using a tropomyosin-derived T-cell epitope vaccination.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 426-431 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Human Immunology |
Volume | 73 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2012 |
Keywords
- Allergy
- Epitopes
- Shrimp
- T cells
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology