Identification of epitopes of the β subunit of soybean β-conglycinin that are antigenic in pigs, dogs, rabbits and fish.

BACKGROUND β-Conglycinin (conglycinin) is one of the major seed storage proteins of soybean. Conglycinin is a 7S trimer composed of different combinations of β, α and α' subunits. All subunits of conglycinin have been reported to be allergenic in humans. The goal of this research is to identify epitopes of the β subunit of conglycinin that are antigenic in multiple animal species. RESULTS Sera from pigs, dogs, rabbits and hybrid striped bass that had antibodies against soybean conglycinin were identified by ELISA. Most of these sera recognized peptides that represent the β subunit of conglycinin. One antigenic region of the β subunit of conglycinin had considerable overlap among all species tested. One region that was similar to a peanut allergenic epitope in humans overlapped with a region that binds IgE from dogs. One region was antigenic in multiple rabbits and pigs, suggesting it may play a role in the response of pigs to soybean in the diet. CONCLUSION One region of the β subunit of conglycinin is an important antigen across species and abuts a region similar to the peanut allergen ARA h 1. A second region is particularly antigenic in pigs and rabbits. Variants of these antigenic regions of the β subunit of conglycinin may be useful in determining the role these regions play in the health of animals fed soybean. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.