Role of LTP and TLP families in the development of the treenut allergy.

Allergies are nowadays diseases affect more than 30 % of the population in western countries. They are caused by inhalation, ingestion or contact with allergens, antigens responsible for the inducing synthesis of specific immuglobulin E (IgE) that mediate allergic reactions under certain conditions.In the case of food allergies, the current incidence is estimated about 3 % in the adult population and 6-8 % in the pediatric. Food allergens are mostly soluble proteins with a molecular weight of between 10-70 kDa. Allergy to nuts is one of the most common food allergies, the tree nuts are among the most allergic foods world wide, and therefore from hazelnut, walnut, cashew, peanut, chestnut and Brazil nut have been identified. The characterization of nut allergens, has revealed that the majority belong to storage protein families such as vicillins (7S globulins composed of subunits of about 50 kDa), legumins (11-13S globulins composed of acid peptide subunits of 30-40 kDa and 15-20 kDa basic) and 2S albumin (15 kDa).