Wheat allergy | |
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Wheat | |
Classification and external resources | |
MeSH | D021182 |
Wheat allergy is an allergy which typically presents itself as a food allergy, but can also be a contact allergy resulting from occupational exposure to wheat. Like all allergies, wheat allergy involves immunoglobulin E and mast cell response. Typically the allergy is limited to the seed storage proteins of wheat, some reactions are restricted to wheat proteins, while others can react across many varieties of seeds and other plant tissues. Wheat allergy may be a misnomer since there are many allergenic components in wheat, for example serine protease inhibitors, glutelins and prolamins and different responses are often attributed to different proteins. Twenty-seven potential wheat allergens have been successfully identified. The most severe response is exercise/aspirin induced anaphylaxis attributed to one omega gliadin that is a relative of the protein that causes celiac disease. Other more common symptoms include nausea, urticaria, atopy.Gluten sensitivity is not usually classified as a wheat allergy.
Wheat allergy is rare. Prevalence in adults was found to be 0.21% in a 2012 study in Japan. There are four major classes of seed storage proteins: albumins, globulins, prolamins and glutelins. Within wheat, prolamins are called gliadins and glutelins are called glutenins. These two protein groups form the classic glutens. While gluten is also the causative agent of coeliac disease (CD), coeliac disease can be contrasted to gluten allergy by the involvement of different immune cells and antibody types (See Comparative pathophysiology of gluten sensitivities), and because the list of allergens extend beyond the classic gluten category of proteins.