Tropomyosin is a muscle contraction protein documented across all animal life. Despite its ubiquity, its unique structure in invertebrates leads to allergic responses in humans that vertebrate tropomyosin does not. High degrees of homology can explain cross-reactivity between tropomyosin derived from distantly-related arthropod species and establishes tropomyosin as a panallergen. Given this cross-reactivity and that they are commonly found in high numbers indoors, research on the potential of the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) to contribute tropomyosin to the indoor environment is needed. Therefore, we investigated tropomyosin homology between bed bugs and known tropomyosin allergens from other taxa, tropomyosin in bed bug bodies, feces, and exuviae (cast skins), tropomyosin persistence over time, and impacts of common bed bug treatment strategies on detectable tropomyosin. Tropomyosin was detected in mechanically fractured bed bug cadavers and was detectable in bed bugs cadavers aged for 18 months. Additionally, a survey of pest management professionals showed dead bed bugs are not cleaned up following treatment. As such, dead bed bugs could act as tropomyosin reservoirs following bed bug treatment and exposure to tropomyosin from bed bugs could sensitize individuals and lead to increased responses to other arthropod tropomyosin.

原肌球蛋白是一种存在于所有动物生命中的肌肉收缩蛋白。尽管其普遍存在，但其在无脊椎动物中的独特结构会导致人类产生过敏反应，而脊椎动物原肌球蛋白则不会。高度同源性可以解释源自远亲节肢动物物种的原肌球蛋白之间的交叉反应性，并将原肌球蛋白确立为全过敏原。鉴于这种交叉反应性以及它们在室内数量较多，因此需要研究常见臭虫（Cimex lectularius L.）向室内环境贡献原肌球蛋白的潜力。因此，我们研究了臭虫与来自其他类群的已知原肌球蛋白过敏原、臭虫体、粪便和蜕皮（铸皮）中的原肌球蛋白之间的原肌球蛋白同源性，原肌球蛋白随时间的持久性，以及常见臭虫治疗策略对可检测到的原肌球蛋白的影响。在机械骨折的臭虫尸体中检测到原肌球蛋白，并且在 18 个月龄的臭虫尸体中也检测到原肌球蛋白。此外，对害虫管理专业人员的调查显示，死臭虫在处理后没有被清理干净。因此，在臭虫治疗后，死臭虫可能充当原肌球蛋白储存库，并且接触臭虫的原肌球蛋白可能会使个体变得敏感，并导致对其他节肢动物原肌球蛋白的反应增加。