Variability of allergens in commercial fish extracts for skin prick testing
Thimo Ruethers
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorAya C. Taki
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorRoni Nugraha
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Department of Aquatic Product Technology, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Search for more papers by this authorTrúc T. Cao
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorMartina Koeberl
Technical Development and Innovation Group, National Measurement Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorSandip D. Kamath
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorNicholas A. Williamson
Bio21 Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, The Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorSean O'Callaghan
Bio21 Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, The Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorShuai Nie
Bio21 Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, The Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorSam S. Mehr
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Department of Allergy and Immunology, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Department of Allergy and Immunology, Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorDianne E. Campbell
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Department of Allergy and Immunology, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Andreas L. Lopata
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Correspondence
Andreas L. Lopata; Pharmacy and Medical Research Building, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorThimo Ruethers
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorAya C. Taki
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorRoni Nugraha
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Department of Aquatic Product Technology, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Search for more papers by this authorTrúc T. Cao
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorMartina Koeberl
Technical Development and Innovation Group, National Measurement Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorSandip D. Kamath
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorNicholas A. Williamson
Bio21 Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, The Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorSean O'Callaghan
Bio21 Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, The Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorShuai Nie
Bio21 Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, The Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorSam S. Mehr
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Department of Allergy and Immunology, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Department of Allergy and Immunology, Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorDianne E. Campbell
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Department of Allergy and Immunology, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Andreas L. Lopata
Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Centre for Food and Allergy Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Correspondence
Andreas L. Lopata; Pharmacy and Medical Research Building, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Background
Commercial allergen extracts for allergy skin prick testing (SPT) are widely used for diagnosing fish allergy. However, there is currently no regulatory requirement for standardization of protein and allergen content, potentially impacting the diagnostic reliability of SPTs. We therefore sought to analyse commercial fish extracts for the presence and concentration of fish proteins and in vitro IgE reactivity using serum from fish-allergic patients.
Methods
Twenty-six commercial fish extracts from five different manufacturers were examined. The protein concentrations were determined, protein compositions analysed by mass spectrometry, followed by SDS-PAGE and subsequent immunoblotting with antibodies detecting 4 fish allergens (parvalbumin, tropomyosin, aldolase and collagen). IgE-reactive proteins were identified using serum from 16 children with confirmed IgE-mediated fish allergy, with focus on cod, tuna and salmon extracts.
Results
The total protein, allergen concentration and IgE reactivity of the commercial extracts varied over 10-fold between different manufacturers and fish species. The major fish allergen parvalbumin was not detected by immunoblotting in 6/26 extracts. In 7/12 extracts, five known fish allergens were detected by mass spectrometry. For cod and tuna, almost 70% of patients demonstrated the strongest IgE reactivity to collagen, tropomyosin, aldolase A or β-enolase but not parvalbumin.
Conclusions
Commercial fish extracts often contain insufficient amounts of important allergens including parvalbumin and collagen, resulting in low IgE reactivity. A comprehensive proteomic approach for the evaluation of SPT extracts for their utility in allergy diagnostics is presented. There is an urgent need for standardized allergen extracts, which will improve the diagnosis and management of fish allergy.
Graphical Abstract
Commercial skin prick test (SPT) extracts often contain insufficient amounts of important fish allergens, resulting in low IgE reactivity. Collagen, tropomyosin and aldolase A are of under-recognized importance for the diagnosis of fish allergy. Understanding the molecular allergology of SPT allergen extracts is essential for best diagnostics.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Supporting Information
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