• Chinese adolescents
• fixed effects model
• gender difference
• quality of life
• ultra-processed foods
• unprocessed or minimally processed foods

• National Social Science Fund of China

• Allergens classification
• Allergens families
• Food allergen
• Food allergen properties
• Food allergy
• Plant allergens
• Prevalence

• Animals
• Humans
• Food Hypersensitivity
• Food
• Adjuvants, Immunologic
• Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic
• Solubility

• Component-resolved diagnosis
• House dust mite
• Immunotherapy
• Recombinant allergen

• Anisakis typica
• Egypt
• Molecular analysis
• Morphology
• Plectropomus areolatus

• absolute detection
• fish allergy
• food labelling
• relative detection
• ribosomal 18S rRNA

• ELISA
• allergen
• food safety
• nonthermal processing
• seafood

• aerogel
• chitin
• chitosan
• drosophila
• insect
• materials
• obst-A
• proteins
• skin substitutes
• wound healing

Introduction: Asthma and allergy occur frequently among seafood processing workers, with the highest prevalence seen in the crustacean processing industry. In this study we established for the first time the prevalence of allergic sensitization in the Norwegian king- and edible crab processing industry and characterized the IgE-reactive proteins.

Materials and Methods: Two populations of crab processing workers participated; 119 king crab and 65 edible crab workers. The investigation included information on work tasks and health through a detailed questionnaire. Allergic sensitization was investigated by crab-specific IgE quantification and skin prick tests (SPT) to four in-house prepared crab extracts; raw meat, cooked meat, raw intestines and raw shell. Allergen-specific IgE binding patterns were analyzed by IgE immunoblotting to the four allergen extracts using worker serum samples. Total proteins in crab SPT extracts and immunoblot-based IgE binding proteins were identified by mass spectrometric analysis.

Results: Positive SPTs were established in 17.5% of king- and 18.1% of edible crab workers, while elevated IgE to crab were demonstrated in 8.9% of king- and 12.2% of edible crab processing workers. There was no significant difference between the king and edible crab workers with respect to self-reported respiratory symptoms, elevated specific IgE to crab or SPT results. Individual workers exhibited differential IgE binding patterns to different crab extracts, with most frequent binding to tropomyosin and arginine kinase and two novel IgE binding proteins, hemocyanin and enolase, identified as king- and edible crab allergens.

Conclusions: Occupational exposure to king- and edible crabs may frequently cause IgE mediated allergic sensitization. Future investigations addressing the diagnostic value of crab allergens including tropomyosin and arginine kinase and the less well-known IgE-binding proteins hemocyanin and enolase in a component-resolved diagnostic approach to crab allergy should be encouraged.

• EkstraStiftelsen Helse og Rehabilitering (Stiftelsen Dam)
• National Health and Medical Research Council

• IgE diagnostics
• food allergy
• nutritional counseling
• provocation testing
• therapy

• Crustacean
• Diagnosis of fish allergy
• Fish allergy
• Mollusk
• Oral food challenge
• Shellfish allergy
• Skin prick test

• Allergens
• Diagnostic panel
• Eosinophilic esophagitis
• Immunoglobulin E
• Sensitization patterns

Fish, crustaceans, and mollusks are among the most potent allergenic foods of animal origin and are thus important triggers of work-related immediate-food allergies. In Germany, work-related seafood allergies are of great importance in the fishing and processing industries as well as in the areas of food preparation, food control, and food sales. There is no causal therapy of seafood allergy, only the strict and lifelong avoidance of allergens remains. The following recommendations serve to assess the impact of a seafood allergy with regard to the work opportunities ended by it for the assessment of the reduction of earning capacity (MdE (German for Minderung der Erwerbsfähigkeit)) in the context of the occupational disease number 5101 of the Annex to the German regulation for occupational diseases. As a special feature of work-related seafood allergy with regard to insurance law aspects, it must be taken into account that there is a potential risk of systemic reaction with subsequent multi-organ involvement. For the estimation of MdE in the general labor market, the impact of a seafood allergy can therefore be assessed, depending on its clinical severity, as generally “mild” to “severe” in justified individual cases.

• BK No. 5101
• crustaceans
• fish
• immediate-type allergy
• mollusks
• occupational dermatology
• reduction of earning capacity
• seafood
• shellfish

• RNA-Seq
• allergen
• allergy
• prawn
• tropomyosin

• Allergens/genetics
• Allergens/immunology
• Animals
• Arthropod Proteins/classification
• Arthropod Proteins/genetics
• Arthropod Proteins/immunology
• Cross Reactions/immunology
• Evolution, Molecular
• Food Hypersensitivity/genetics
• Food Hypersensitivity/immunology
• Gene Expression Profiling/methods
• Humans
• Penaeidae/classification
• Penaeidae/genetics
• Penaeidae/immunology
• Phylogeny
• Seafood/analysis
• Species Specificity
• Transcriptome/genetics
• Tropomyosin/genetics
• Tropomyosin/immunology

• APP1086656 National Health and Medical Research Council
• IH130200013 Australian Research Council

• Anaphylaxis
• Food allergy
• Liparis tanakae

• Allergenic genes
• Anisakis pegreffii
• Gastric juice
• Transcriptomic analysis

• bony fish
• cartilaginous fish
• fish allergy
• fish cross-reactivity
• food labeling
• food safety

• Allergens/analysis
• Allergens/immunology
• Animals
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/economics
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods
• Fish Products/analysis
• Fish Proteins/analysis
• Fish Proteins/immunology
• Fishes/classification
• Fishes/immunology
• Seafood/analysis

• allergens
• detection
• enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
• kimchi
• real-time polymerase chain reaction
• shrimp

• IgE antibody
• allergens
• allergic rhinitis
• bronchial asthma

• Allergen
• Mollusk species
• Multiplex PCR
• Simultaneous detection
• Tropomyosin

Most fish-allergic patients have anti-β-parvalbumin (β-PV) immunoglobulin E (IgE), which cross-reacts among fish species with variable clinical effects. Although the β-PV load is considered a determinant for allergenicity, fish species express distinct β-PV isoforms with unknown pathogenic contributions. To identify the role various parameters play in allergenicity, we have taken Gadus morhua and Scomber japonicus models, determined their β-PV isoform composition and analyzed the interaction of the IgE from fish-allergic patient sera with these different conformations. We found that each fish species contains a major and a minor isoform, with the total PV content four times higher in Gadus morhua than in Scomber japonicus. The isoforms showing the best IgE recognition displayed protease-sensitive globular folds, and if forming amyloids, they were not immunoreactive. Of the isoforms displaying stable globular folds, one was not recognized by IgE under any of the conditions, and the other formed highly immunoreactive amyloids. The results showed that Gadus morhua muscles are equipped with an isoform combination and content that ensures the IgE recognition of all PV folds, whereas the allergenic load of Scomber japonicus is under the control of proteolysis. We conclude that the consideration of isoform properties and content may improve the explanation of fish species allergenicity differences.

The sensitization to house dust mites (HDMs) and shrimps affects the development of hypersensitivity with an increase in age. Due to the cross-reactivity between shellfish and HDMs, HDMs were considered as the primary sensitizer for shellfish allergy. Thus, vegetarians might be sensitized to shrimp through the inadvertent inhalation of HDMs. Therefore, we assessed the prevalence of shrimp or mite allergy among different age groups and vegetarians. The serum specific-IgE (sIgE) level of HDMs and shrimp in 60 children/adolescence (un-adults), 30 adults, 30 elderly, and four vegetarian adults patients were measured. The sera with sIgE levels greater than 3.5 kUA/L were cross-reactivity examined. We found that HDMs induced higher sIgE than shrimp in un-adults. In contrast, shrimp-induced sIgE was higher in the adults and elderly patients. Moreover, adults were more frequently sensitized to shrimp and mite at the same time compared with the un-adult or elderly groups. The mite-Der p 10 not only displayed high cross-reactivity to the shrimp-Pen a 1 in all age groups and vegetarians but functioned as the major allergen to sensitize un-adults. Overall, the level of mite or shrimp sIgE is influenced by alterations in age, and vegetarians are at risk of shrimp sensitization via cross-reactivity between shrimp and mite.

• Aptamer
• Extraction
• Prawn allergy
• Quantification
• Tropomyosin

• Allergens/analysis
• Allergens/classification
• Allergens/isolation & purification
• Animals
• Arthropod Proteins/analysis
• Arthropod Proteins/classification
• Arthropod Proteins/isolation & purification
• Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
• Electrophoresis
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
• Humans
• Penaeidae/chemistry
• Shellfish/analysis
• Shellfish Hypersensitivity
• Tropomyosin

• Cra g 1
• Epitope
• IgE
• Mutation
• Oyster
• Tropomyosin

• avoidance diet
• food allergy
• microbiome
• nutrition
• personalized nutrition
• phenotype

• Food Hypersensitivity/diet therapy
• Humans
• Nutrition Therapy
• Precision Medicine

• IgE
• conformation
• oyster
• thermal treatment
• tropomyosin

• Allergens/chemistry
• Allergens/immunology
• Animals
• Circular Dichroism
• Cooking
• Hot Temperature
• Humans
• Immunoglobulin E
• Ostreidae/chemistry
• Ostreidae/immunology
• Shellfish/analysis
• Shellfish Hypersensitivity/immunology
• Tropomyosin/chemistry
• Tropomyosin/immunology

• allergen
• arginine kinase
• capillary electrophoresis
• food safety
• ion-exchange chromatography
• shellfish
• tropomyosin

Web-based surveys (WBS) are increasingly applied in epidemiological studies as an appealing alternative to traditional survey methods. Rapid data collection, reduced expenditure and ease of access to large populations are some of the clear advantages of online surveys. However, WBS are still subject to limitations in terms of sample size, response rate and other additional biases compared to traditional survey methods. In the present study, we seek to validate data on food allergy (FA) in two independent sample populations collected from a WBS, and compare it to a paper-based survey (PBS).

Data collected from two survey modes were compared by hypothesis testing for independent sample population. The WBS included 1185 respondents, while the PBS included 9039 respondents.

Overall, the data from the WBS were comparable to the PBS conducted over the same period of time in Vietnamese adults. There were no effects of different survey modes on the lifetime prevalence of doctor-diagnosed FA (5.7%; P = 0.7795, β = 0.05) and IgE-mediated FA (5.8%; P = 0.9590, β = 0.05). Both surveys showed the dominance of seafood allergy in this population (up to 2.6%), followed by beef allergy. Close correlation was seen in the patterns of FAs and different clinical symptoms. The contribution of family history of allergic diseases and place of residence to FA were confirmed in both surveys.

The consistency of the WBS results with the PBS indicates a promising application of online surveys as an economic and validated model for future epidemiological studies, specifically in developing countries.

The online version of this article (10.1186/s40413-018-0195-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

• Adults
• Epidemiological survey
• Food allergy
• Paper-based survey
• Population-based survey
• Prevalence
• Seafood allergy
• Vietnam
• Web-based survey

• IgE cross-reactivity
• Sydney rock oyster
• heat processing
• mollusc allergen
• tropomyosin

Shellfish is one of the major allergen sources worldwide, and tropomyosin (Tm) is the predominant allergic protein in shellfish. Probiotics has been appreciated for its beneficial effects on the host, including anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects, although the underlying mechanisms were not fully understood. In this study, oral administration of probiotic strain Bifidobacterium infantis 14.518 (Binf) effectively suppressed Tm-induced allergic response in a mouse model by both preventive and therapeutic strategies. Further results showed that Binf stimulated dendritic cells (DCs) maturation and CD103⁺ tolerogenic DCs accumulation in gut-associated lymphoid tissue, which subsequently induced regulatory T cells differentiation for suppressing Th2-biased response. We also found that Binf regulates the alterations of gut microbiota composition. Specifically, the increase of Dorea and decrease of Ralstonia is highly correlated with Th2/Treg ratio and may contribute to alleviating Tm-induced allergic responses. Our findings provide molecular insight into the application of Binf in alleviating food allergy and even gut immune homeostasis.

• allergy
• dendritic cell
• microbiota
• probiotic
• regulatory T cell
• tropomyosin

The Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies represent a turning point in the food inspection field, particularly for species identification in matrices composed of a blend of two or more species. In this study NGS technologies were applied by testing the usefulness of the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (PGM) in seafood traceability. Sixteen commercial surimi samples produced both in EU and non-EU countries were analysed. Libraries were prepared using a universal primer pair able to amplify a short 16SrRNA fragment from a wide range of fish and cephalopod species. The mislabelling rate of the samples was also evaluated. Overall, DNA from 13 families, 19 genera and 16 species of fish, and from 3 families, 3 genera and 3 species of cephalopods was found with the analysis. Samples produced in non-EU countries exhibited a higher variability in their composition. 37.5% of the surimi products were found to be mislabelled. Among them, 25% voluntary declared a species different from those identified and 25% (all produced in non-EU countries) did not report the presence of molluscs on the label, posing a potential health threat for allergic consumers. The use of vulnerable species was also proved. Although the protocol should be further optimized, PGM platform proved to be a useful tool for the analysis of complex, highly processed products.

• Animals
• Fishes/genetics
• High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods
• Humans
• Quality Control
• RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
• Seafood

• IgE cross-reactivity
• allergy diagnosis
• allergy treatment
• non-specific lipid transfer proteins
• pathogenesis-related protein family 10
• polcalcins
• profilins
• tropomyosin

• Allergens/immunology
• Animals
• Antigens, Plant/immunology
• Biomarkers/metabolism
• Cross Reactions
• Food
• Humans
• Hypersensitivity/diagnosis
• Hypersensitivity/epidemiology
• Hypersensitivity/immunology
• Immunoglobulin E/metabolism
• Pollen/immunology
• Predictive Value of Tests
• Tropomyosin/immunology

• P 27589 Austrian Science Fund FWF
• W 1213 Austrian Science Fund FWF

Food-borne nematodes of the genus Anisakis are responsible for a wide range of illnesses (= anisakiasis), from self-limiting gastrointestinal forms to severe systemic allergic reactions, which are often misdiagnosed and under-reported. In order to enhance and refine current diagnostic tools for anisakiasis, knowledge of the whole spectrum of parasite molecules transcribed and expressed by this parasite, including those acting as potential allergens, is necessary.

In this study, we employ high-throughput (Illumina) sequencing and bioinformatics to characterise the transcriptomes of two Anisakis species, A. simplex and A. pegreffii, and utilize this resource to compile lists of potential allergens from these parasites. A total of ~65,000,000 reads were generated from cDNA libraries for each species, and assembled into ~34,000 transcripts (= Unigenes); ~18,000 peptides were predicted from each cDNA library and classified based on homology searches, protein motifs and gene ontology and biological pathway mapping. Using comparative analyses with sequence data available in public databases, 36 (A. simplex) and 29 (A. pegreffii) putative allergens were identified, including sequences encoding ‘novel’ Anisakis allergenic proteins (i.e. cyclophilins and ABA-1 domain containing proteins).

This study represents a first step towards providing the research community with a curated dataset to use as a molecular resource for future investigations of the biology of Anisakis, including molecules putatively acting as allergens, using functional genomics, proteomics and immunological tools. Ultimately, an improved knowledge of the biological functions of these molecules in the parasite, as well as of their immunogenic properties, will assist the development of comprehensive, reliable and robust diagnostic tools.

Nematodes within the genus Anisakis (i.e. A. simplex and A. pegreffii, also known as herring worms) are the causative agents of the fish-borne gastrointestinal illness known as ‘anisakiasis’, with infections resulting in symptoms ranging from mild gastric forms to severe allergic reactions leading to urticaria, gastrointestinal and/or respiratory signs and/or anaphylaxis (‘allergic anisakiasis’). Despite significant advances in knowledge of the pathobiology of allergic anisakiasis, thus far, the exact number and nature of parasite molecules acting as potential allergens are currently unknown; filling this gap is necessary to the development of robust and reliable diagnostics for allergic anisakiasis which, in turn, underpins the implementation of effective therapeutic strategies. Here, we use RNA-Seq and bioinformatics to sequence and annotate the transcriptomes of A. simplex and A. pegreffii, and, as an example application of these resources, mine this data to identify and characterise putative novel parasite allergens based on comparisons with known allergen sequence data from other parasites and other organisms.

• Allergens/genetics
• Allergens/immunology
• Animals
• Anisakiasis/immunology
• Anisakiasis/parasitology
• Anisakiasis/veterinary
• Anisakis/genetics
• Anisakis/growth & development
• Anisakis/immunology
• Fish Diseases/immunology
• Fish Diseases/parasitology
• Helminth Proteins/genetics
• Helminth Proteins/immunology
• Perciformes/parasitology
• Transcriptome

• Wellcome Trust
• James Cook University (AU)
• Isaac Newton/Wellcome ISSF/Cambridge University Joint Grant

• allergy
• epitope
• food
• processing
• protein