What is the heat-stable muscle protein often identified as the major sensitizing agent in individuals allergic to crustaceans?
Answer
Tropomyosin
For most individuals diagnosed with a crustacean allergy, the immune system is reacting primarily to a specific heat-stable muscle protein found within that group of animals, which is known as tropomyosin. This protein is consistently present in crustaceans like shrimp, crab, and lobster. Because tropomyosin is the main culprit, sharing this identical protein structure causes extremely high rates of cross-reactivity within the crustacean subgroup. Although tropomyosin can be present in mollusks, its structure or concentration might be sufficiently different to allow a person allergic only to crustacean tropomyosin to safely consume mollusks.
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