Symposium on “Sensitizing Properties of Proteins”

Overview

To date, the allergenic potential of new proteins in the human food chain has been assessed by eliciting reactions in allergic patients who have been identified as potentially cross-reactive.  Significantly less attention has been given to assessing whether a new protein may become a food allergen independent of previous sensitizations.  The purpose of the symposium was to summarize current knowledge about the sensitizing properties of proteins and explore the applicability of emerging experimental techniques.  Experts from various disciplines and fields provided overviews of the present knowledge of the mechanisms by which proteins in foods may cause sensitization, e.g., by creating an IgE immune response and subsequently allergic reactions in humans. Moreover, speakers provided a broad overview of experimental models of protein sensitizing potential spanning from in silico procedures to in vivo techniques, and explored whether such experimental techniques may be applicable in regulatory settings.

Symposium Materials

Symposium Program
Symposium Participants
Speaker Bios
Speaker Abstracts
PATC Summary

Symposium Presentations

SESSION I:  FOOD-SPECIFIC FACTORS

Prevalence of allergies around the globe: the big eight (ten? thirteen?)
Dr. Montserrat Fernández-Rivas, (Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Spain)

Variability of individual protein contents in crops
Dr. Gregory Ladics (DuPont Agricultural Biotechnology, USA)

Matrix effects on allergenicity
Dr. Christal Bowman (US Environmental Protection Agency, USA)

Allergen-specific pattern recognition receptor pathways
Dr. Marsha Wills-Karp (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA)

Danger signals from allergens: proteolytic action
Dr. Ronald van Ree (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

SESSION II:  EXPERIENCES FROM THE HUMAN FOOD CHAIN – WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES?

Describing patterns of IgE sensitization to molecules using modern technologies
Dr. Adriano Mari (Allergome - Allergy Data Laboratories sc, Italy)

New proteins in the food chain: Is there evidence of new sensitization and allergies?
Dr. Richard Goodman, PhD (FARRP, University of Nebraska, USA)

Factors modifying allergen sensitization and predisposition to allergic diseases
Dr. Simon Hogan (University of Cincinnati, USA)

SESSION III:  IN VITRO AND IN SILICO MODELS FOR SENSITIZATION

Allergenicity of linear versus conformational epitopes
Dr. Anna Pomés (Indoor Biotechnologies Inc., USA)

Allergen protein families – what makes them so peculiar?
Dr. Karin Hoffmann-Sommergruber (University of Vienna General Hospital, Austria)

Implementation of the results from the EU Framework Programme 6 funded project Sens-it-iv
Dr. Erwin Roggen (Novozymes AS and 3Rs Management and Consultancy, Denmark)

Tools and technologies for immunogenicity and allergenicity risk management
Dr. Jeremy W. Fry (ProImmune Limited, United Kingdom)

SESSION IV:  HOST-SPECIFIC FACTORS

The role of the epithelium in sensitization
Dr. Emily Swindle (University of Southampton, United Kingdom)

T-cell subtypes and plasticity: which are relevant in the allergic phenotype?
Prof. Lars K. Poulsen (Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark)

B-cell isotype switch and the longevity of the IgE-antibody response
Dr. Lone Hummelshøj (Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark)

Sub-populations at risk: age and co-morbidity as risk factors for developing food allergy
Dr. Jonathan Hourihane (University of Cork, Ireland)

SESSION V:  ANIMAL MODELS FOR SENSITIZATION

The BALB/c mouse model of allergy for the assessment of sensitizing properties of proteins and foods and their alteration by environmental conditions
Dr. Jean-Michel Wal (INRA-CEA, France)

The rat brown Norway model to assess the oral sensitizing properties of food proteins
Dr. André H. Penninks (TNO Triskelion BV, The Netherlands)

Limitations and possibilities of animal models for human allergenic risk evaluation
Dr. Charlotte Madsen (Technical University of Denmark, Denmark)

The mouse cholera toxin model for evaluating protein allergenicity
Dr. Joost J. Smit (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)

Conclusions: How close are we to predicting allergenicity of new proteins?
Dr. Corinne Herouet-Guicheney (Bayer CropScience, France)