Hypersensitivity pneumonitis caused by soybean antigens

Abstract

Since 1929, when it was first introduced in infant diets, soybean has been described as a cause of a varibty of allergic reactions (i.e., urticaria, angioedema, gastrointestinal symptoms, asthma, and anaphylaxis). 1 In 1990 this antigen was listed as an agent causing occupational disease when a soybean-dependent asthma epidemic occurred in Barcelona and Cartagena, Spain, after a dust discharge into the air. 2 The partially characterized antigens were 14 and 8 kd molecular weight proteins found highly concentrated in soybean hull.3.4 We now describe other soybean hull antigens as a new cause of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) in a research agronomist who was exposed to them for a long time.