Chapter category: Adhesion Molecules
Food and Milk Allergies
Oral Tolerance: The Response of the Intestinal Mucosa to Dietary Antigens
Edited by: Olivier MorteauISBN: 0-306-47989-3
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Chapter authors:
Mary H. Perdue and Martine Heyman
Oral tolerance is the usual response to antigens encountered via the gut mucosal immune system. However in some individuals, ingestion of food antigens does not result in a down-regulated system, but rather an immunologically-mediated allergic reaction. Such reactions occur in ~2-5% of the population and commonly induce gastrointestinal symptoms. Other organ systems, such as the airways and skin, can also be involved. True food allergies/hypersensitivities are caused by antigen cross-linking of IgE antibodies bound to receptors on mucosal mast cells. Mast cell-derived mediators then act on cells in the local environment to alter physiology. A critical step in the reaction is the penetration of antigen through the epithelial lining of the intestine. This Chapter will describe experiments, mainly in animal models, that have contributed to our current understanding of the mechanisms involved in the pathology/pathophysiology of food and milk allergies. We will not provide extensive detail on all studies, but rather will give an overview of the clinical problem and then describe experimental findings with an emphasis on recent novel results related to the role of intestinal epithelial cells in food allergies.
Additional chapters from this book:
Clinical Applications of Oral Tolerance
Howard L. Weiner
Oral tolerance has classically been defined as the specific suppression of cellular and/or humoral immune responses to an antigen by prior administration of the antigen by the oral route. It presuma...
Physiopathology of Celiac Disease
Katri Kaukinen, Markku Meki and Pekka Collin
In celiac disease, ingestion of gluten results in T-cell-mediated small bowel mucosal damage characterized by subtotal or severe partial villous atrophy with crypt hyperplasia. A life-long gluten-fr...
Food and Milk Allergies
Mary H. Perdue and Martine Heyman
Oral tolerance is the usual response to antigens encountered via the gut mucosal immune system. However in some individuals, ingestion of food antigens does not result in a down-regulated system, bu...
Induction of Tolerogenic versus Pathogenic Mucosal Immune Responses by Commensal Enteric Bacteria
Dirk Haller and R. Balfour Sartor
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are spontaneously relapsing, immunologically-mediated disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Microbia...
IgA and Mucosal Homeostasis
Jesper Reinholdt and Steffen Husby
Mucosal surfaces represent the major interface between host and environment. They constitute the point of entry of most infectious pathogens, and are in contact with potentially injurious antigens p...
Cytokines, Cyclooxygenases and Oral Tolerance
Olivier Morteau
The intestinal mucosa faces a perpetual challenge: to allow the entry of minerals and nutrients from the lumen while modulating the immune responses to luminal antigens, in order to prevent mucosal ...
The Role of T Cells in the Intestinal Mucosa
Giovanni Monteleone and Thomas T. MacDonald
The intestine contains the largest population of T cells in the body. This reflects the fact that the intestine has a large surface area continuously exposed to dietary antigens and microorganisms. ...
A Revisit of Current Dogma for the Cellular and Molecular Basis of Oral Tolerance
Kohtaro Fujihashi, Hirotomo Kato and Jerry R. McGhee
Studies of the cellular and molecular mechanisms for oral tolerance have focused on the central importance of CD4+ T cells and their surface co-stimulatory molecules as well as derived cytokines. In...
Oral Tolerance: An Overview
Allan McI Mowat
The diet of all animals contains a wide variety of proteins of animal and vegetable origin, most of which are potentially antigenic. Contrary to much popular belief, a significant proportion of this...
Structure and Function of the Gastrointestinal Mucosa
Mona Bajaj-Elliott and Ian R. Sanderson
The large mucosal surface of the gastrointestinal tract faces many challenges while maintaining overall body metabolic integrity.1,2 The primary function of the small intestine is to digest and abso...
