Crustaceans (Shellfish)

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Crustaceans (Crustacea) are classified as arthropods together with spiders (Arachnida), centipedes (Myriapoda), and insects (Insecta). A wide variety are consumed raw or cooked. Shrimp accounts for 62% of the annual catch, crabs, 28% and the rest, lobster and crayfish (crawfish).
 
Crustacea allergens are reported to be heat-stable, water-soluble and can enter the atmosphere in steam aerosols from the cooking process (1, 2, 4). There appears to be common allergenic determinants among various members of the group. These appear to be responsible for a part of the clinically significant IgE-mediated reactions to other crustaceans in individuals sensitized to shrimp (3).
 
A 34-39 kD group of proteins was identified as carrying major allergenic activity in several crustaceans, molluscs and in some studies also in insects and arachnids (5-13). Several of the proteins show homology to tropomyosin. They may have species-specific as well as crustacean-specific or even arthropod-specific epitopes, but seem to be allergenically different from avian and mammalian tropomyosins (5, 6, 8). The epitopes do not seem to be located in the parts of the tropomyosin molecule that show high homology between species (6). An immunoassay for Pen a 1 detected tropomyosin in shrimp, crab and lobster but not in oyster, house dust mite, cockroach, or fish (5). RAST or immunoblot inhibition studies applied for investigation of allergenic relations often show unilateral inhibition. For example, shrimp inhibited IgE binding to cockroach but cockroach only partly inhibited the binding to shrimp of antibody from the same serum (14) and, similarly, mite inhibited snail but snail did not inhibit mite (15). The reason behind is not clear, but may involve factors like natural exposure to the allergens and selection of patients for the study.

References:

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1999