Abstract
The field of glycobiology in allergen research is emerging. Plant N-linked oligosaccharides of complex type generally possess a characteristic core structure with xylose β1-2 linked to β-mannose and fucose α1-3 linked to N-acetylglucosamine at the reducing end, which rarely found in animals. Such glycans of plant glycoproteins have been found to induce immunogenic responses in animals. This brief review introduces the current knowledge on the structure, antigenicity and allergenicity of plant carbohydrate epitopes (plant glycotopes) obtained from the increasing number of studies on pollen and food allergens. It also presents some fundamental problems that must be elucidated for development of the glycobiology of plant glycotopes and application of the results to the treatment of allergy.
