Antigenic Epitope Prediction and Structural Analysis of Glycoside Hydrolase Family 18 Chitinase Allergen from Domestic Silkworm (Bombyx mori) Pupa
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Abstract:
Domestic silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupa is an important byproduct of the sericulture industry and is commonly consumed as a snack owing to its nutritional properties and high content of proteins and unsaturated fatty acids. Recent progress in the study and development of diversified products prepared from silkworm pupa has boosted the revenue obtained from the sericulture industry. However, the severe allergy symptoms resulting from consuming silkworm pupa have limited its applications in the food and feed industries. It has been reported that the glycoside hydrolase family 18 chitinase (BmChi) from domestic silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupa is an important food allergen; however, no 3-dimentional structure studies have been conducted on the allergen BmChi. In this study, several bioinformatics software tools were used to comprehensively analyze the homology, secondary structure, hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity, molecular flexibility, antigenicity, and surface accessibility of BmChi, and subsequently, the B-cell epitope region was predicted. The results of this study can provide the foundation for an in-depth study on the immunological characteristics of BmChi and help developing methods for desensitization to silkworm pupa.
