ISOLATION AND PROPERTIES OF ALLERGENIC PROTEINS IN THE OYSTER CRASSOSTREA-GIGAS

Two allergens, designated as Cra gs 1 and 2, were isolated from the oy ster Crassostrea gigas by gel permeation chromatography on a Sephacryl S-300, ion-exchange FPLC on a Mono Q HR 5/5, and reverse-phase HPLC o n a TSKgel Phenyl SPW-RP. Although both allergens were separated from each other by ion-exchange FPLC, they showed the same behaviors in gel permeation chromatography and reverse-phase HPLC. In addition, Cra gs were quite similar to each other as follows: they were 86 kDa glycopr oteins with a carbohydrate content of about 5%; they were composed of 35 kDa subunits; they were remarkably abundant in Glx, followed by Asx , Ala, and Leu, and were devoid of Pro and Trp; their reactivities aga inst the sera from seafood allergy patients were equivalent. The molec ular masses and characteristics of amino acid composition strongly sug gested that Cra gs are tropomyosin of C. gigas.