Structural Insights on Cross-Reactivity of Mite Allergens with Helminth Proteins

Abstract

Updated notions about the so-called hygiene hypothesis consider now that helminths may have influence in the training of the immune system during childhood. Considering the similar type of immune response between helminth infections and allergic illnesses, the objective of this study was to evaluate how structural and functional conservation between house-dust mite allergens and their helminth orthologs might contribute to the cross-induction of IgE responses in allergies and helminthiasis. Amino acid sequences from group-1, -2, -5, -9, -10, -18, -21, and -23 allergens of the house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus were retrieved from curated databases, and orthologs were identified in other mite species and different helminth parasites. We also assessed structural, conservational, functional, and immunologic relationships between these major mite allergens and their helminth counterparts. De novo 3D-modelling, B-cell epitopes prediction, structural conservation, and docking analyses were analyzed by Robetta platform, ElliPro and CBTope, RaptorX, and Z-Dock, respectively. Our results extend previous findings on structural conservations between major allergens and parasite proteins and show that these conservations go beyond the well-known conservations and may account for the observed immunological cross-reactions. This understanding can contribute in the near future to the development of more specific serological testing for mite-induced allergies and helminthiasis.