Abstract
Occupational exposure and sensitization to food proteins and allergens is a serious health concern, and affects 4-36% of the workforce in the seafood industry. Although there have been previous attempts to identify and characterize air-borne food allergens, there is still a poor correlation between the inhalational exposure and allergen-specific reactivity among the seafood processing workers. The aim of this study was to implement a combined proteomic- and allergenomic-based strategy to identify the major IgE-reactive proteins in crab processing factory among sensitized workers and investigate the inhalational allergen load for major crab allergens. Twenty crab-processing workers were recruited for this study with clinical asthma and/or positive skin prick test to crab extract. Air-borne allergen load was measured by sampling air from the personal breathing zones of the workers. IgE antibody reactivity to king and edible crab allergens were analysed using serum from worker by immunoblotting and mass spectrometric characterization of allergens. 90% of the tested crab workers showed strong IgE binding and recognition to crab proteins. Strong IgE reactivity was observed to crab tropomyosin and arginine kinase. Unique IgE binding patterns were observed to different raw and heated crab extracts. In addition, IgE binding to novel putative allergens such as hemocyanin were observed. The current study provides an insight into the role of major crab allergens, which maybe be the primary sensitizer in the development of allergy and asthma in the crab industry. The outcome of this study assists in better work safety for workers at risk of developing ingestion-induced food allergy and future development of immunotherapeutic strategies.
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