J Korean Med Sci.  2008 Feb;23(1):72-76. 10.3346/jkms.2008.23.1.72.

Identification of Dioscorea Batatas (Sanyak) Allergen as an Inhalant and Oral Allergen

• Hur GY
• Park HJ
• Kim HA
• Ye YM
• Park HS

• KMID: 1786848
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2008.23.1.72

Abstract

Dioscorea batatas is widely used in Asia as a herbal medicine or food product with potential health benefits. There have been several reports of occupational asthma caused by inhalation of D. batatas dust. However, there has been no report of systemic allergic reactions after oral administration of D. batatas. Two patients with D. batatas allergy were enrolled. One had experienced severe urticaria and angioedema after indigestion, and the other had been exposed to D. batatas dust and was diagnosed as having occupational asthma. Both patients had high serum-specific IgE and IgG4 antibodies to D. batatas. And IgE immunoblot demonstrated that both sera bound to a 27-kDa protein with an IgE-binding motif, which was revealed by 2-D-electrophoresis to have the sequence Asn-Val-Glu-Asp-Glu-Phe-Ser-X-Ile- Glu-Gly-Asn-Pro-X-X-Pro-Glu-Asn-X-Gly (pI 6.40, 6.04). In conclusion, discorin from D. batatas (DB3S) was identified as the major allergen of D. batatas in patients sensitized via an oral or inhalant route.

Keyword

Allergen; Dioscorea batatas; Sanyak; Food Hypersensitivity; Inhalant Allergy

MeSH Terms

Administration, Inhalation
Administration, Oral
Adult
Allergens/*immunology
Amino Acid Sequence
Dioscorea/*immunology
Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Female
Humans
Immunoblotting
Immunoglobulin E/blood
Immunoglobulin G/blood
Molecular Sequence Data

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 The levels of specific IgE (A), IgG1, and IgG4 antibodies (B) to D. batatas extracts in the sera of patients (1 and 2) and unexposed healthy controls, as assessed by ELISA. The cut-off value was greater than the mean plus three standard deviations.

• 

  Fig. 2 Analyses by 4-20% SDS-PAGE (S) and IgE immunoblot (1, 73, N, B) of D. batatas extracts. S, SDS-PAGE; 1 and 2, individual sera from the two patients; N, non-atopic unexposed healthy control; B, buffer control.

• 

  Fig. 3 2D electrophoresis (A) and IgE immunoblot analysis (B) of D. batatas extracts using the sera of the two patients. The IgE-binding 27-kDa protein exhibits several IgE-binding spots, the two largest of which (1 and 2) were selected for amino acid sequencing analysis.

• 

  Fig. 4 Amino acid sequencing of the major spots from the D. batatas extracts. Gray boxes represent amino acid sequences identical to a 268-amino acid tuber storage protein of D. polystachya.

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