Comparison of sensitizing and disease-eliciting capacities of salt-soluble protein extracts from diploid (einkorn) versus tetraploid (durum) wheats

Abstract

Abstract Hypersensitivity reactions to wheat have reached significant levels of global public health concern for reasons that are incompletely understood. Einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum, genome AA) is commercially available but is rarely consumed, whereas durum wheat (Triticum durum, genome AABB) is commonly used for pasta making. At present, most mouse models of wheat allergy are adjuvant-based, which fail to reveal the intrinsic allergenic potential of different wheat products. Here we compared einkorn and durum wheats in terms of their sensitizing and disease-eliciting capacities in an adjuvant-free mouse model of anaphylaxis induced by salt-soluble protein extract (SSPE). Balb/cJ female mice were sensitized transdermally with SSPE or saline for nine weeks. Later, systemic or oral anaphylactic reactions were elicited in these mice using SSPE via intraperitoneal or oral route, respectively. We did not observe major differences in sensitizing capacity as suggested by antibody responses (i.e., sIgE and tIgE levels) in SSPE-sensitized mice. However, SSPE from durum appears to be more potent than that from einkorn in eliciting systemic but not oral anaphylaxis as shown by hypothermic shock responses as well as mucosal mast cell degranulation. This is the first report on comparing the intrinsic allergenicity between tetraploid and diploid wheats in an adjuvant-free mouse model. This research was funded by: the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA); Hatch project MICL02486 (Accession Number: 1012322), Hatch project MICL01699; Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program, grant number: 2018-67017-27876; and Project GREEEN (Michigan State University); R.J., was supported by the John Harvey Kellogg Graduate Assistantship and the Academic Achievement Graduate Assistantship from the Michigan State University.