Prediction of the potential allergenicity of novel proteins

Abstract

The potential allergenicity of novel proteins expressed in genetically modified organisms is an important item in the safety assessment of these organisms. The various components of the allergenicity assessment include the source of the protein, sequence similarity with known allergenic proteins, in vitro digestibility, sera binding tests, animal models and clinical tests. Recent developments in the field of bioinformatics studies on the sequence similarity of novel proteins with allergenic proteins, as well as in vitro digestibility, are discussed.