Abstract
Cross-reactivity of antibodies against almond major protein (AMP, a legumin), the major almond allergen, with cereal proteins may cause problems in detecting almond contaminants in cereal products when antibody-based assays are used. Rabbit polyclonal IgG antiserum produced against AMP was used to test cross-reactivity with protein extracts from maize, a cereal commonly found in breakfast and snack foods. Gradient SDS-PAGE followed by Western blotting was performed, and two cross-reactive proteins were detected by chemiluminescence. A fraction of maize proteins purified by elution from an IgG anti-AMP affinity column followed by electrophoreseis and immunoblotting showed a high degree of cross-reactivity with a minor 50 kDa protein of maize, as well as low cross-reactivity with the 27 kDa γ-zein. The 50 kDa cross-reactive protein was identified as the 50 kDa γ-zein by immunoreaction with anti-50 kDa γ-zein antiserum. Notably, the 50 kDa maize γ-zein also reacted with IgE from pooled human sera from patients with self-reported severe almond allergies. The high immunoreactivity of the 50 kDa γ-zein should be considered in maize quality improvement programs, and such notable cross-reactivity is of relevance in the design of antibody-based assays for almond allergen detection.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 7965-7970 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |
Volume | 53 |
Issue number | 20 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 5 2005 |
Keywords
- γ-zein
- Allergen
- Almond major protein
- Cross-reactivity
- Immunoreaction
- Maize
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Food Science
- Chemistry (miscellaneous)