Research article

Endotyping Cellular and Humoral Cross-reactivity against Soybean (Glycine max) and Red Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in Non-IgE-mediated Food Protein-Induced Gastrointestinal Allergies

Abstract

Background: Patients with sensitivity to legume lectins may present several phenotypes regarding clinical severity and features, suggesting the existence of several endotypes underlying clinical symptoms. However, the immunoreactivity produced by these carbohydrate-ligand proteins has not yet been thoroughly investigated. Aim: To evaluate the potential of the Tube Titration of Precipitins (TTP) and the Leukocyte Adherence Inhibition Test (LAIT) to  differentiate cellular and humoral immunoreactivity against lectin-rich related legumes (Glycine max and Phaseolus vulgaris),  challenging their extracts against blood samples of patients with non–IgE-mediated food protein-induced gastrointestinal allergic diseases. Study Design: We examined retrospectively the medical charts of two cohorts of patients clinically diagnosed with non–IgE-mediated food protein-induced gastrointestinal allergic diseases related to consumption of soybean and/or red bean, who were investigated with the help of TTP or LAIT. Methodology: The registered results of the TTP and LAIT against 1 mg/mL soybean extract and 1 mg/mL red bean extract were distributed in ranges through a cascade distribution chart to outline the variability of the results within the first cohort. The statistical differences within these cohorts were calculated. The Pearson correlation test was calculated between paired results. Results: The paired t-test indicated a non-significant difference between the LAIT results of soybean and red bean extracts (p-value = 0.74). Pearson’s correlation indicated a significant moderate positive relationship between LAIT results of soybean and red bean extracts, r(98) = 0.314, p = 0.001. The paired t-test indicated a non-significant difference between the TTP results of soybean and red bean extracts (p-value = 0.655). The Pearson correlation indicated a significantly weak positive relationship between TTP results of soybean and red bean extracts; r(98) = 0.228, p = 0.022. Conclusion: Our preliminary results support that the TTP and LAIT performed with soybean and red bean extracts may differentiate diverse humoral and cellular immunoreactivity degrees, as well as demonstrating a significant correlation between the humoral and cellular immunoreactivity between the two extracts in patients suffering from Non-IgE-mediated FPI-GIA.