Identification of the major allergens in wheat flour responsible for baker's asthma

Baker's asthma, a typical occupational allergic disease, is a serious problem in the food industries. In this study, purification and identification of major allergens recognized by IgEs in sera of allergic patients were performed. Major immunoreactive proteins were purified from the albumin fraction by gel filtration on a Toyopearl HW-50 column followed by reverse-phase HPLC. The N-terminal amino acid sequences and molecular masses measured by MS indicated that the major immunoreactive proteins are members of the alpha-amylase inhibitor family, 0.19 and 0.28. Significant leukotriene release by each purified protein was observed in cell-associated stimulation tests, suggesting in vivo activity of these antigens. Carbohydrate analyses of major allergens indicated that they are monoglycosylated but not N-glycosylated in spite of the presence of a potential N-glycosylation site. Recombinant 0.19 expressed in Escherichia coli showed the same reactivity with IgE as native wheat 0.19 in Western blotting and ELISA using methyl vinyl ether maleic anhydride co-polymer as an immobilizing reagent, suggesting that the allergenic epitopes are located in the peptide portions.