Are Dietary Lectins Relevant Allergens in Plant Food Allergy?

Abstract

Lectins or carbohydrate-binding proteins are widely distributed in seeds and vegetative parts of edible plant species. A few lectins from different fruits and vegetables have been identified as potential food allergens, including wheat agglutinin, hevein (Hev b 6.02) from the rubber tree and chitinases containing a hevein domain from different fruits and vegetables. However, other well-known lectins from legumes have been demonstrated to behave as potential food allergens taking into account their ability to specifically bind IgE from allergic patients, trigger the degranulation of sensitized basophils, and to elicit interleukin secretion in sensitized people. These allergens include members from the different families of higher plant lectins, including legume lectins, type II ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIP-II), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), jacalin-related lectins, GNA (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin)-like lectins, and Nictaba-related lectins. Most of these potentially active lectin allergens belong to the group of seed storage proteins (legume lectins), pathogenesis-related protein family PR-3 comprising hevein and class I, II, IV, V, VI, and VII chitinases containing a hevein domain, and type II ribosome-inactivating proteins containing a ricin B-chain domain (RIP-II). In the present review, we present an exhaustive survey of both the structural organization and structural features responsible for the allergenic potency of lectins, with special reference to lectins from dietary plant species/tissues consumed in Western countries.

Transgenic plants expressing immunosuppressive dsRNA improve entomopathogen efficacy against Spodoptera littoralis larvae

“…In addition, since a thorough risk assessment is still lacking, the presence of antivitamins in crops may suffer from a lack of public acceptability. The low success of lectin-expressing plants is likely because these proteins are potential food allergens (Barre et al 2020). Although they proved to be very effective against pests, especially when fused with proteins from insect specific and even insect pest-specific arthropod venoms, no impact on beneficial insects has been observed (Gatehouse et al 2011;Nakasu et al 2014).…”

Development of Multiplex PCR Coupled DNA Chip Technology for Assessment of Endogenous and Exogenous Allergens in GM Soybean

“…Lectins or carbohydrate-binding proteins are widely distributed in seeds and vegetative parts of edible plant species. They are considered as potential food allergens, however, more investigations are needed to fully assess their allergenicity [ 40 ]. Soybean lectin is a species-specific single-copy gene, which is usually used as a target for the allergenic soybean detection [ 21 ].…”

Functional Studies of Plant Latex as a Rich Source of Bioactive Compounds: Focus on Proteins and Alkaloids

“…It was shown that the expression of exogenous lectins in genetically engineered plants led to various detrimental effects in invading insects, ranging from a severe delay in development to high mortality rates. Moreover, the introduction of specific lectins to the insect diet negatively affects pest performance, as reviewed in [48]. The toxicity of lectins depends on the presence of specific carbohydrates in the insect body, which, in turn, is correlated with insects' developmental stage [49,50].…”