Immunogenicity and allergenicity of 2S, 7S and 11S soy protein fractions

It is known that in a part of the population, mainly among children, some are hypersensitive to soybean protein, although it is not yet completely elucidated which protein fraction is more immunogenic/allergenic. The objective of the study was to compare the immunogenicity and allergenicity of the soy protein fractions. The 2S (conglycinin), 7S (b conglycinin) and 11S (glycinin) fractions were isolated from soy protein by affinity chromatography. These purified soy protein fractions were used as antigens for immunizing BALB/c mice to evaluate their immunogenicity by following the appearance of specific IgM and IgG antibodies in blood serum by ELISA. The allergenicity of these soy protein fractions was evaluated by the following approaches: i) the production of IgE antibodies against 2S, 7S and 11S soy protein fractions by BALBc mice in the anaphylactic cutaneous passive test (PCA), and ii) the production of IgG1 specific antibodies against the 7S fraction in BALB/c mice. The 7S and 11S fractions induced the formation of IgM and IgG antibodies. The PCA test showed that only the 7S fraction was allergenic leading to the production of IgE antibodies. Another evidence that reinforces the allergenicity of the 7S soy protein fraction is the presence of IgG1 specific antibodies reactive to this protein fraction in immunized mice. Our study shows that the 7S soy protein fraction is important to elicit allergic reactions in mice and may contribute to elucidate the allergenicity of soy-derived products.