Identification of allergen fractions of wheat flour responsible for anaphylactic reactions to wheat products in infants and young children

Wheat is a food allergen which occasionally causes anaphylactic reactions e xclusively in young children. There is very little knowledge of the clinica l outcome in cases of food-related anaphylaxis and the differences in the a llergenic protein components of food involved, comparing individuals who ha ve suffered from an anaphylactic reaction with other individuals. The objec tives of the present study were to examine the clinical features of 7 young children who had experienced anaphylactic reactions after ingesting wheat flour-containing products, and to analyze the allergens in wheat flour resp onsible for the anaphylactic symptoms. We measured the total IgE levels and the levels of IgE antibodies specific to wheat flour and performed IgE imm unoblotting, comparing the sera from these children with sera from patients with atopic dermatitis. All sera from children who had experienced anaphyl actic reactions were found to be positive for IgE specific to wheat. IgE im munoblotting revealed that 3 of these 7 children had sera showing reactivit y to components of the sa It-soluble protein fraction (16, 35-67 and 94 kD) and salt-insoluble protein-containing fraction (16, 38 and 70 kD) and 4 ha d no sera showing reactivity to components of the salt-soluble fraction. Pa tients with atopic dermatitis showed similar staining patterns. Various pro teins in wheat flour could be allergens responsible for anaphylaxis and ato pic dermatitis in infants or young children. Our findings suggest that thes e two clinically diverse allergic diseases do not necessarily represent res ponses to different allergenic proteins of wheat. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Kar ger AG, Basel