Kudoa septempunctata, a myxosporean parasite, is the causative agent of a foodborne illness associated with consumption of raw Paralichthys olivaceus (olive flounder). Because the lag phase of this illness is short (from 1 to 12 h), it is possible that an allergic response is relevant to this illness. To test whether a K. septempunctata antigen is the possible allergen, we injected a myxospore extract into BALB/c mice and measured IgE levels in serum. When the mice were injected with the myxospore extract, the total serum IgE concentration increased significantly after the second immunization as compared to the negative control. After the third immunization, total IgE concentration in the immunized mice reached 26.5 ng/ml and was almost equivalent to that of egg albumin-injected mice. Western blot analysis revealed that IgE antibodies-in serum samples that were collected from myxospore extract-injected mice-bound to at least two Kudoa proteins with molecular weight between 28 and 36 kDa. These results suggested that a K. septempunctata antigen is the allergen. Further studies are needed to clarify the contribution of allergy to the foodborne illness caused by K. septempunctata.
Keywords: Allergy; Fish; Foodborne illness; Kudoa.