3-5OAS Assessment of Allergenicity of Novel Proteins (CSR1-2, DMO) in Herbicide-Tolerant Genetically Modified Soybean

Wednesday, 14 October 2015: 16:30 - 16:45
Room R1 ABC (Floor 3) (Coex Convention Center)

Jeongok Lee, PhD , Environmental Health Center for Atopic Diseases, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

Jinyoung Lee, MSc , Environmental Health Center for Atopic Diseases, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

Jae-Hwan Kim, PhD , Institute of Life Sciences & Resources and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, South Korea

Hae-Yeong Kim, PhD , Institute of Life Sciences & Resources and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, South Korea

Woo-Jung Song, MD , Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea

Jihyun Kim, MD , Environmental Health Center for Atopic Diseases, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Seoul, South Korea

Youngshin Han, PhD , Environmental Health Center for Atopic Diseases, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

Kangmo Ahn, MD, PhD , Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

Background: Allergic reactions to proteins expressed in genetically modified (GM) crops have been regarded as one of the health risks among the consumers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential allergenicity of newly expressed proteins (CSR1-2, DMO)in GM soybean (CV127, MON87708) by using sera from children with allergic disease.

Methods: The recombinant proteins (CSR1-2, DMO) were expressed and purified for the serum screening test. Sera were obtained from Korean children with allergic symptoms who had positive soybean-specific IgE. The level of serum specific IgE was measured by the ImmunoCAP system (Phadia, Uppsala, Sweden) and considered as positive when they were 0.35 kU/L or higher. The allergenicity of purified-recombinant protein was evaluated by immunoblot analysis.

Results: Sera from 40 allergic patients sensitized to soybean (26 boys and 14 girls) were obtained. Their age ranged between 0 and 4 years (mean age 2.2 years). The soybean-specific IgE level of the patients was 26.8 kU/L on average. Most of the patients(27/40) were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis, while some of them had asthma (2/40), urticaria (2/40), or other allergic diseases (9/40). Serum screening test was done using patients’sera and newly inserted protein in GM soybean. CSR1-2 and DMO from GM soybean had an apparent molecular weight of 64 kDa and 39.8 kDa, respectively. The immunoblot analysis showed positive IgE reactivity between patients' sera and proteins from traditional soybeans. However, CSR1-2 and DMO did not show any reactivity.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that novel proteins (CSR1-2, DMO) encoded by newly inserted gene in GM soybean are not likely to develop allergies.

 Reference:1. Kim JH, Ahn K, Lee SI, Kim HY. Allergenicity assessment of insect-resistant genetically modified maize Bt11, MON810 and MON863. Food Sci Biotechnol 2009;18(5):1273-8 

                 2. Lee SI, Kim JY, Han YS, Lee GS,Kim JH, Kim HY, Ahn K. : Assessment of Allergenicity in Genetically Modified Herbicide-Resistant Foods Using the Serum Screening Test, Pediatr. Allergy Respir. Dis(Korea) 2009;19(3):250-259