RNA-seq analysis of shrimp tropomyosin-induced allergic reactions through PI3K/Akt pathway

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Introduction Tropomyosin (TM) is the primary allergen in Litopenaeus vannamei , which usually causes allergic reactions that may be health or even life-threatening for consumers. Therefore, exploring the sensitization mechanism is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of tropomyosin allergy. Methods and results In this study, TM sensitization models were using Balb/c mice, Caco-2 cells and RBL-2H3 cells to reveal the sensitization effect. The results of ELISA and RT-qPCR showed that TM can exacerbate the allergic reaction by reducing the mRNA expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins (such as ZO-1, claudin-3, Occludin) in the jejunum, destroying the intestinal barrier function, increasing the permeability, and promoting the release of inflammatory factors (such as IL-8, TNF- α ) and histamine. The pathological results of intestinal tissue sections showed that TM also caused an increase in intestinal inflammatory infiltration in mice. RNA-seq analysis revealed that key genes (CCL2, HSP1A, GM-CSF, etc.) and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway were involved in the sensitization process. In vitro experiments were conducted to construct TM sensitized Caco-2 and RBL-2H3 cell models at a dose of 100 mg/mL. The results indicated that TM upregulated the expression of phosphorylated PI3K/ Akt and NFκB pathways in Caco-2 cells, further damaged the TJ structure of intestinal epithelial cells and promoted the release of inflammatory factors. The RBL-2H3 cell degranulation assay indicated that TM could directly stimulate the release of TNF- α from mast cells. Conclusion The above experimental results indicated that PI3K/Akt signaling pathways play a crucial role in the induction of TM allergic responses, which provides a theoretical basis for the occurrence, development and prevention of TM allergy.