Genetic & Genomics and Department of Horticulture, Institute of Plant Breeding, University of Georgia, Tifton, Georgia.
Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Allergy. 2019 May;74(5):888-898. doi: 10.1111/all.13719. Epub 2019 Feb 1.
Peanut is one of the most common food triggers of fatal anaphylaxis worldwide although peanut allergy affects only 1%-2% of the general population. Peanuts are the source of highly potent allergenic proteins. It is emerging that the allergenicity of certain proteins is linked to their biological function. Peanut is an unusual crop in that it flowers aboveground but produces its seed-containing pods underground. This so-called geocarpic fruiting habit exposes pods and seeds during their development to soilborne pathogens and pests. Pest damage can also open routes of entry for opportunistic fungi such as Aspergillus. Although seed proteins have primary functions in nutrient reservoirs, lipid storage bodies, or the cytoskeleton, they have also evolved to act as part of the plant's defense system to enhance fitness and survival of the species. When interacting with pathogens or pests, these proteins modify and damage cells' membranes, interact with immune receptors, and modulate signaling pathways. Moreover, following exposure, the immune system of predisposed individuals reacts to these proteins with the production of specific IgE. This review explores the evolutionary biology of peanut and its seed proteins and highlights possible links between the proteins' biological function and their allergenicity.
花生是全球范围内导致致命过敏反应最常见的食物过敏原之一，尽管花生过敏仅影响总人口的 1%-2%。花生是高致敏性过敏原蛋白的来源。某些蛋白的致敏性与其生物学功能有关，这一点正在显现。花生是一种不同寻常的作物，因为它的花在地上生长，但产生含种子的豆荚在地下。这种所谓的地下果实习性使豆荚和种子在发育过程中暴露于土壤传播的病原体和害虫中。害虫的损害也会为机会性真菌（如曲霉属）打开进入的途径。尽管种子蛋白在营养储存、脂质储存体或细胞骨架中具有主要功能，但它们也进化为作为植物防御系统的一部分发挥作用，以提高物种的适应性和生存能力。当与病原体或害虫相互作用时，这些蛋白会改变和破坏细胞的膜，与免疫受体相互作用，并调节信号通路。此外，在暴露后，易患个体的免疫系统会对这些蛋白产生特异性 IgE 进行反应。这篇综述探讨了花生及其种子蛋白的进化生物学，并强调了这些蛋白的生物学功能和致敏性之间可能存在的联系。
