Crustacean Allergy and Dust Mites Sensitization

Most epidemiological data related to allergy to shellfish come from the USA, where 2.5% of the adult population is subject to an allergy to shellfish, which is also the leading cause of anaphylaxis in adults in these areas. This allergy affects also the European adult population, so that the crustaceans were included in the European Directive 2003/89/EC on the labeling requirement to indicate any allergenic ingredients (listed in Annex 3 a) used in the production of a food and present, although in other form, in the finished product. The allergen mainly involved in allergic reactions to shellfish food is the tropomyosin protein of PM of about 34-36 kDa, isolated for the first time in the shrimp (Pen to 1), involved in the mechanisms of muscle activation and identified in the muscle fiber of many crustaceans (Pen i 1, Cha f 1, Cra c 1, Hom a 1, v 1 Lit, Pan s 1, Pen m 1) and molluscs (Hel as 1, d 1 Hal, Cra g 1, Oct 1 st, Tod p 1). The tropomyosins, identified in many other invertebrates, such as dust mites and cockroaches, seem to be cross-reactive with each other, suggesting the role of allergens inside of the Invertebrates. In those circumstances, the positivity of specific IgE for the crustaceans can thus be determined also by sensitization to tropomyosin even for simple cross-reactivity with tropomyosin of the mites, which represents a minor allergen Der known as p10.