Abstract:

Objective: Shellfish is one of the best edible proteins for human. It is also commonly identified as a source of food hypersensitivity, and ingestion of shellfish may cause severe allergic reactions such as anaphylactic shock. The potential risk of shellfish allergy is worth paying more attentions. Method: Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus was selected as the material, and the muscle protein was extracted with a triturator. Nine cases of shellfish-allergic serum and six cases of normal serum were obtained through questionnaire survey and identified with allergen kit. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting were applied to identify the components and characterizations of specific allergen of Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus. Results: There are eight sections of protein with relative molecular weight of more than 200 kD, 200, 90, 80, 70, 46, 36, and 24 kD in SDS-PAGE, respectively. Eight cases of shellfishallergic serum show IgE-binding capacity to the protein with relative molecular weight of 90 kD in Western blotting. The 90-kD protein accounts for 10% to 20% of the muscle protein of Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus, and mainly is salt-soluble protein. Conclusion: The specific allergenic component in Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus is identified as a 90-kD protein.

Key words: Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus, specific allergen, Western blotting, SDS-PAGE, survey