Soy: allergenic properties of proteins and IgE cross-reactions

Abstract

Since the last century, European countries began to actively use soybean seeds as food additives or for food production with 100% milk and animal proteins replaced with soy. In Russia, soy is a relatively new agricultural crop, which recently began to be used in food production. Meanwhile, some proteins of soybeans have pronounced allergenic properties. The World Health Organization classified eight soy proteins (Gly m 1Gly m 8) as allergens capable of causing clinically significant immunoglobulin (Ig)E-mediated sensitization in patients with allergic diseases. Moreover, most of these allergens were included in the World Health Organization nomenclature over the past 15 years. Additionally, the presence of other soybean allergens that can bind to sIgE has scientific evidence. Moreover, some soy allergens have homology in amino acid sequence and three-dimensional similarity to proteins of other plants and animals. Therefore, questions of IgE-cross-reactivity are becoming relevant. Thus, this review aimed to analyze and summarize scientific data on the chemical structure, properties, and allergenic activity of soy and soybean proteins (soybean seeds) and their cross-reactions with proteins of animal and plant origin.