Prediction, identification, and analysis of major B-cell linear epitopes of bomb m 6 from silkworm pupa.

Bomb m 6 is one of the most representative allergens in silkworm pupae. The aim of the present study was to investigate the B-cell linear epitopes of Bomb m 6. Sequence propensity- and machine learning-based strategies were first used to predict 12 and 8 candidate epitopes, respectively. Then, 46 overlapping peptides [P1-P46; length, 15 amino acids (AAs); offset, 5 AAs] spanning the Bomb m 6 sequence were synthesized and tested for IgE/IgG reactivity by dot blotting. Seven IgE-binding epitopes and six IgG-binding epitopes were identified. AA61-80, AA136-150, and AA146-150 were identified as the shared dominant IgE/IgG-binding epitopes. The epitopes contain mainly α-helix and β-sheet structures and high proportions of hydrophobic AAs, and are distributed in charged regions. The major peptides of the epitopes were poorly resistant to simulated gastrointestinal fluid digestion. These findings provide a reference for the prevention of and immunotherapy for silkworm pupa allergy.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationship that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. All authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript being submitted. This article is the authors' original work, hasn't received prior publication and isn't under consideration for publication elsewhere. All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest in regards to publication of this research work.
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