Journal of Asthma and Allergy (Dec 2021)

A Case of Anaphylaxis Caused by Major Royal Jelly Protein 3 of Royal Jelly and Its Cross-Reactivity with Honeycomb

  • Li JD,
  • Cui L,
  • Xu YY,
  • Guan K

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 1555 – 1557

Abstract

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Jun-Da Li,1– 3 Le Cui,1– 3 Ying-Yang Xu,1– 3 Kai Guan1– 3 1Department of Allergy, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Beijing Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine for Diagnosis and Treatment on Allergic Diseases, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Disease, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Kai GuanDepartment of Allergy, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, #1 Shuaifuyuan, Wangfujing, Beijing, 100730, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 10-69156346Email [email protected]: Royal jelly and honeycomb are commonly consumed in China, and anaphylaxis caused by ingestion of royal jelly is rare. To date, there is no report of anaphylaxis after ingestion of royal jelly in China. Its cross-reactivity with honeycomb is still unclear.Case Report: A 56-year-old Chinese female experienced two episodes of anaphylaxis within 1 hour after ingestion of royal jelly within one month. After avoiding royal jelly and other bee products, no anaphylactic reaction occurred again. The skin prick test and basophil activation test showed positive reactivity to royal jelly and honeycomb. In immunoblotting and immunoblotting inhibition tests, a 60 kDa protein was recognized in royal jelly and cross-reactivity with honeycomb. The mass spectrometry data revealed that the 62kDa protein belongs to major royal jelly protein 3.Conclusion: Our data suggest that major royal jelly protein 3 of royal jelly is a main allergen that induces anaphylaxis and cross-reactivity with honeycomb. Therefore, the patient was allergic to royal jelly to avoid other bee products.Keywords: royal jelly, honeycomb, major royal jelly protein 3, anaphylaxis

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