Yagami T
Kokuritsu Iyakuhin Shokuhin Eisei Kenkyusho Hokoku. 1998(116):46-62.
Immediate-type allergic reactions to latex products made from natural rubber are called latex allergy. One of the notable features of latex-allergic people is their cross-reactivity to various vegetable foods and pollen. The structurally similar proteins which most kinds of plants potentially induce must be responsible for these cross-reactions. However, the taxonomical dissimilarity among the causative plants has kept us from concrete explanations of such cross-reactive allergens. We have speculated that plant defense-related proteins are a possible cause of the latex allergy. The well-known serologic relationships and sequence similarities of these ubiquitous plant proteins can explain the cross-reactivity without difficulty. Rubber trees cultured in plantation farms are repeatedly tapped and treated with phytohormones. These stresses would result in the significant induction of defense-related proteins. Indeed, we were able to detect defense-related enzymes in latex extracts. Moreover, three hydrolytic enzymes (beta-1,3-glucanase, chitinase/lysozyme, and carboxylesterase) that are very likely to take a defensive role were specifically recognized by the IgE antibodies of latex-allergic people and atopic patients. These experimental results strongly support our hypothesis. Because of their conserved structures, defense-related proteins should form a family of plant pan-allergens.
对天然橡胶制成的乳胶产品产生的速发型过敏反应被称为乳胶过敏。乳胶过敏人群的一个显著特征是他们对各种植物性食物和花粉具有交叉反应性。大多数植物可能诱导产生的结构相似的蛋白质必定是这些交叉反应的原因。然而，致病植物之间的分类学差异使我们无法对这种交叉反应性过敏原作出具体解释。我们推测植物防御相关蛋白可能是乳胶过敏的一个原因。这些普遍存在的植物蛋白众所周知的血清学关系和序列相似性能够轻易解释交叉反应性。种植园农场中培育的橡胶树会被反复采胶并使用植物激素处理。这些压力会导致防御相关蛋白的大量诱导。事实上，我们能够在乳胶提取物中检测到防御相关酶。此外，三种极有可能发挥防御作用的水解酶（β-1,3-葡聚糖酶、几丁质酶/溶菌酶和羧酸酯酶）被乳胶过敏人群和特应性患者的IgE抗体特异性识别。这些实验结果有力地支持了我们的假设。由于其结构保守，防御相关蛋白应该构成一个植物泛过敏原家族。
