Food allergy immunology

Food Allergy Immunological Aspects and Approaches to Safety Assessment... 

Kimber, I., Penninks, A.H., and Dearman, R.J. 2007. Food allergy Immunological aspects and approaches to safety assessment. In Immunotoxicology and Immunopharmacology. R. Leubke, R. House, and I. Kimber, Eds., pp. 607-622. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 

Of necessity, anyone working in the food industry has to be aware of food allergies. They involve one of two different immunologic mechanisms. The most common one involves globulins E (IgE). The less common type is the cell-mediated food allergy. 

An important point is that food allergy can be, and should be, distinguished from other forms of food intolerance where the pathogenesis is non-immunological... 

In summary, therefore, the ability to tolerate dietary exposure to food proteins does not demand the suppression of all immune responses, but rather the avoidance or selective inhibition of immune responses of the quality required for IgE antibody production and allergic sensitization. Against this background an intriguing question relates to the nature of factors that influence the loss or failure of immunological tolerance and acquisition of allergic sensitization to food proteins, and which underlie inter-individual differences in susceptibility to food allergy [43],... 

Sampson, H.A., Immunological approaches to the treatment of food allergy. Pediatr. Allergy Immunol., 12 (Suppl. 14), 91, 2001. 

The European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) defines a food allergy in the following way (Johansson, 2002) ... 

Food allergy is a syndrome that affects 3 to 6% of the population in various countries. In early childhood it occurs as a result of contact with new food components and excessive permeability of GI mucous membranes. As the immunological systems develops, in most cases symptoms recede or food tolerance occurs - usually at the age of three. Studies carried out on a population of Japanese children revealed that the earliest remission occurs in case of allergy to soy, followed by allergy to egg yolk, egg white, wheat, and cows milk (usually between the ages of two and three) (Ebisawa et al., 2003). 

With respect to oral sensitization, attempts have been made to develop animal models of food allergy, which so far has proven to be complicated. One crucial point is the route of exposure experience indicates that it may not be possible to develop an animal model, which rnirnics the human sensitization via the oral route. Exposure via the diet or in drinking water appears in rodents to be more likely to cause immunological hyporesponsiveness (i.e., tolerance) than sensitization, and therefore it may be necessary to use parenteral induction in animal testing (Dearman and Kimber 2007). 

Nucera E, Schiavino D, D Ambrosio C, Stabile A, Rumi C, Gasbarrini G, Patriarca G Immunological aspects of oral desensitization in food allergy. Dig Dis Sci 2000 45 637-641. Patriarca G, Schiavino D, Nucera E, Schinco G, Milani A, Gasbarrini GB, et al Food allergy in children Results of a standardized protocol for oral desensitization. Hepatogastroenterology 1998 45/19 52-58. 

C. Bruijnzeel-Koomen, C. Ortolani, K. Aas, C. Bindslev-Iensen, B. Bjorksten, D. Moneret-Vautrin, and B. Wuthrich, Position paper of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology on adverse reactions to food Adverse Reaction to Food. Allergy 50 623-635, 1995. 

Chapman, J.A., Bernstein, I.L., Lee, R.E. et al. 2006. Food allergy a practice parameter. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology document. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 96 1-68. 

Crespo, J.F., Pascual, C., Burks, A.W., Helm, R.M., Esteban, M.M. 1995a. Frequency of food allergy in a pediatric population from Spain. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 6(l) 39-43. 

The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology has proposed a revised nomenclature for allergic and related reactions (Johansson et al., 2004). According to this proposal adverse reactions to food should be termed "food hypersensitivity." The term food allergy should be used when immunological mechanisms have been demonstrated, and includes both IgE- and non-IgE-mediated reactions. All other reactions, which have sometimes been referred to as "food intolerance," should be termed nonallergic food hypersensitivity (Fig. 3.1). 

Furukawa, C.T. 1991. Non-immunogologic food reactions that can be confused with allergy. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America 11 815-818. 

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