Proteomic and immunoinformatic analysis reveals novel allergen candidates in blood clams

Shellfish allergy is a significant public health concern, yet the molecular basis of allergenicity in molluscs remains poorly defined. In this study, we performed an in-depth proteomic and immunoinformatic analysis of two widely consumed blood clam species, Anadara broughtonii and Tegillarca granosa, to identify and characterize novel allergen candidates. Using high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry, we generated comprehensive protein profiles and applied three complementary allergen prediction algorithms (SEP-AlgPro™, AllerCatPro,and AlgPred 2.0) to screen for potential IgE-binding proteins. Immunoblotting with sera from shrimp-sensitized individuals confirmed IgE reactivity for nine proteins, including catalase and several hemoglobin isoforms—none of which are currently recognized as molluscan allergens. Homology modeling and sequence alignment revealed conserved structural motifsimplicated in allergenicity and suggested cross-reactivity with known crustacean allergens. These findings expand the repertoire of putative molluscan allergens and demonstrate theutility of integrated proteomic and immunoinformatic strategies for allergen discovery.

贝类过敏是一类重要的公共卫生问题，然而软体动物致敏性的分子基础迄今尚未得到明确阐释。本研究针对两种广泛食用的血蛤物种——布氏蚶（Anadara broughtonii）和泥蚶（Tegillarca granosa）开展了深入的蛋白质组学与免疫信息学分析，以鉴定并表征新型致敏原候选物。本研究采用高分辨率串联质谱技术获取了全面的蛋白质组谱，并运用三种互补的致敏原预测算法（SEP-AlgPro™、AllerCatPro及AlgPred 2.0）筛选潜在的IgE结合蛋白。采用虾致敏个体的血清开展免疫印迹实验，证实了9种蛋白的IgE结合活性，其中包括过氧化氢酶与多种血红蛋白亚型——目前这些蛋白均未被归类为软体动物致敏原。同源建模与序列比对分析揭示了与致敏性相关的保守结构基序，并提示该类蛋白与已知的甲壳类动物致敏原存在交叉反应性。本研究结果拓展了推定软体动物致敏原的范围，并证明了整合蛋白质组学与免疫信息学策略在致敏原发现中的应用价值。