The increasing incidence rate of allergic diseases has attracted global attention, and these diseases greatly threaten children′s health. The common pathogenesis of allergic diseases is the specific IgE- or cell-mediated immune response to common inhalant or food allergens. Epidemiological investigation, analysis of fecal flora, and clinical studies all suggest that the development and progression of allergic diseases are closely related to the early disturbance of intestinal flora. Probiotics can regulate intestinal immune response, increase the barrier function of epithelial cells, inhibit the adhesion and colonization of pathogenic bacteria, and thus restore or reconstruct normal intestinal flora. With the increasing understanding of allergic diseases, the effect of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of such diseases will be taken more and more seriously.
Child ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; drug therapy ; immunology ; microbiology ; prevention & control ; Intestines ; immunology ; microbiology ; Probiotics ; administration & dosage

To achieve immune homeostasis in such a harsh environment as the intestinal mucosa, both active and quiescent immunity operate simultaneously. Disruption of gut immune homeostasis leads to the development of intestinal immune diseases such as colitis and food allergies. Among various intestinal innate immune cells, mast cells (MCs) play critical roles in protective immunity against pathogenic microorganisms, especially at mucosal sites. This suggests the potential for a novel MC-targeting type of vaccine adjuvant. Dysregulated activation of MCs also results in inflammatory responses in mucosal compartments. The regulation of this yin and yang function of MCs remains to be elucidated. In this review, we focus on the roles of mucosal MCs in the regulation of intestinal allergic reaction, inflammation and their potential as a new target for the development of mucosal adjuvants.
Adjuvants, Immunologic/*therapeutic use ; Animals ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity/*immunology/prevention & control ; Inflammation/immunology/metabolism/prevention & control ; Intestinal Mucosa/cytology/*immunology ; Mast Cells/*immunology

Allergic diseases, such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, and food allergy, are preventable diseases. Primary prevention strategies of allergic diseases have been in scrutiny. Effective prevention strategies maybe started prenatally, postnatally, during infancy, and even during childhood. These guidelines have been prepared by the Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the Philippine Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. They aim to provide evidence-based recommendations for the dietary primary prevention of allergic diseases in children. The primary audience of these guidelines is all healthcare practitioners who manage patients with potential allergic conditions. These guidelines are based on an exhaustive review of evidences, mostly systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and cohort studies. However, there are still many gaps in the evidence of dietary primary prevention of allergic diseases.
Allergy and Immunology ; Asthma ; Child ; Cohort Studies ; Delivery of Health Care ; Eczema ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Gastroenterology ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Primary Prevention ; Rhinitis, Allergic

The tropomyosin fraction of shrimp proteins is potentially responsible for allergic reaction in individuals with genetic predisposition to allergy. However, there are no efficient and safe methods to reduce its allergenicity. High intensity ultrasound is known to change the structure of proteins. This study is aimed at assessing high intensity ultrasound's effect on the allergenicity of shrimp allergen. Shrimp and purified shrimp allergen were treated with high intensity ultrasound for 30-180 min. Extracts of treated samples were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with pool serum of shrimp allergy patients and polyclonal anti-allergen antibodies and by immunoblotting after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Shrimp treated with high intensity ultrasound showed a decrease in allergenicity measured with ELISA. A linear relationship between the immune response induced by treated shrimp allergen and the applied treatment time was observed. The decrease in allergenicity was confirmed by immunoblot assays with shrimp allergic patients serum. Allergenicity of shrimp allergen extracted from treated shrimp was higher than that of purified shrimp allergen with the same treatment time. Gel-filtration HPLC was applied for analysis of shrimp allergen after treatment with high intensity ultrasound. Some fractions were appeared with increasing treatment time. The results suggested that high intensity ultrasound could be used to reduce the allergenicity of shrimp.
Adolescent ; Allergens ; Animals ; Arthropod Proteins ; Blotting, Western ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Food Hypersensitivity ; immunology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Penaeidae ; immunology ; Proteins ; chemistry ; immunology ; Ultrasonography ; methods

The immunologic reactivity of a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-protein complex isolated from a potassium thiocyanate extract of a Pasteurella multocida (capsular type A and somatic type 3) strain was evaluated in mice. The LPS-protein complex provided 100% protection in mice against a challenge with the homologous strain. However, when the complex was fractionated into LPS and protein moieties by phenol-water treatment, both components lacked immunogenicity. The complex and extracted components were mitogenic for mouse B lymphocytes with the protein moiety the most active. Although immune serum against the LPS-protein complex protected mice against challenge thereby indicating a role for humoral immunity, the LPS-protein complex of P. multocida was also found to induce cell-mediated immunity. This cell-mediated immunity was demonstrated in mice immunized with the complex by: (1). mitogenic responses of T lymphocytes, (2). induction of delayed type hypersensitivity reaction in the hind footpads, and (3). enhanced resistance to challenge infection with Salmonella enteritidis.
Animals ; Antibodies, Bacterial/blood/immunology ; Bacterial Proteins/chemistry/*immunology ; Chemical Fractionation ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; Immune Sera/immunology ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunization, Passive ; Lipopolysaccharides/chemistry/*immunology ; Lymphocyte Activation ; Mice ; Pasteurella Infections/immunology/*prevention & control ; Pasteurella multocida/*chemistry/immunology ; Salmonella Infections, Animal/immunology/prevention & control ; Salmonella enteritidis/growth & development/immunology ; Spleen/cytology/immunology/microbiology

Food allergy is defined as reaction to a food which has an immunologic mechanism. Its prevalence is increasing in children globally and is therefore of increasing clinical importance. A useful clinical approach is to distinguish food allergic reactions by the timing of clinical reaction in relation to food exposure and classified as immediate (generally IgE-mediated) and delayed (generally non-IgE-mediated), with the exception of eczema and eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease, which, when associated with food allergy may be associated with either mechanism. This review is aimed at providing the clinician with a Singaporean perspective on the clinical approach and management of these disorders.
Breast Feeding ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Eczema ; diagnosis ; immunology ; Food Hypersensitivity ; diagnosis ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; diagnosis ; prevention & control ; Immunoglobulin E ; blood ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Skin Test End-Point Titration

Allergic rhinitis (AR) clinically expressed by sneezing, rhinorrhea, nasal itching and congestion is an allergen-driven mucosal inflammatory disease which is modulated by immunoglobulin E. Epidemiological studies have indicated that prevalence of AR continues to increase, and it has been a worldwide health problem that places a significant healthcare burden on individuals and society. Given the evolving understanding of the process by which an allergen is recognized and the roles of mediators which account for AR progress, the pathogenesis of AR has become clearer. Current studies have demonstrated local allergic rhinitis (LAR) that patients with both sug- gestive symptoms of AR and a negative diagnostic test for atopy may have local allergic inflammation is a prevalent entity in patients evaluated with rhinitis, but further research remains needed. Management of AR includes aller- gen avoidance, pharmacological treatment and allergen-specific immunotherapy. Recently montelukast has exhibited previously undocumented anti-inflammatory properties, leukotriene receptor antagonists therefore may serve a more important role in the treatment of AR. Not only has immunotherapy proved its efficacy, but also been able to alter disease course and thereby mitigate progression to asthma. Thus immunotherapy can be initiated while receiving pharmacotherapy, especially in children with AR. As clinical guidelines, the ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) provides basic principles of effective treatment of AR. Besides, choosing an appropriate treatment strategy should be based on the severity and chronicity of patient's symptom. The aim of this review was to provide an update mainly on the pathophysiology, epidemiology, and management of AR.
Acetates ; therapeutic use ; Allergens ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; therapeutic use ; Asthma ; prevention & control ; Child ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity, Immediate ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Immunoglobulin E ; immunology ; Immunotherapy ; Inflammation ; physiopathology ; Leukotriene Antagonists ; therapeutic use ; Prevalence ; Quinolines ; therapeutic use ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; diagnosis ; immunology ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate immune state in lung of BALB/c mice with ovalbumin (OVA) allergy and the effects of fulvotomentoside (Ful) on lungs of the mice and provide some clues for the mechanism that patients with food allergies were prone to asthma and observe the effects of the treatment with traditional Chinese medicine.

METHODNinety-six female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 6 groups. Mice in group 1 and group 2 were sensitized intraperitoneally and challenged intragastrically with OVA and were exposed to phosphate buffer solution and OVA respectively by nebulized inhalation. Mice in group 3 and group 4 were treated with Ful, other processes were the same as the mice in group 1 and group 2, respectively. Mice in group 5 were not challenged intragastrically with OVA and other processes were the same as the mice in group 2. Group 6 was the control group. The number of total leukocytes and cell classification in bronchoalveolar lavage (BALF) were counted, and inflammatory characteristic of lung was scored by staining with hematoxylin and eosin. The protein expressions of transforming growth factor (TGF-β1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-17 (IL-17A) in lung of the mice were detected by immunohistochemical method. The activation of neutrophils in lung was assayed by the level of myeloroxidase (MPO).

RESULTThere was no inflammatory cells infiltration in lung of the mice in group 1. Compared with group 6, numbers of total leukocytes and erythrocytes as well as the percentage of neutrophils and lymphocytes were increased in group 2. Inflammatory score and protein expressions of TGF-β1 [(75 437 ± 3 638) vs. (6 118 ± 1 978)], IL-6 [(121 650 ± 25 389) vs. (15 726 ± 9 360)], IL-17A [(252 105 ± 31 651)vs. (72 644 ± 12 285)] in lung were increased, too. Inflammatory score and TGF-β1 (11 054 ± 1 468), IL-6 (50 877 ± 11 744), IL-17A (137 864 ± 28 986) expressions in group 5 were lower than those in group 2. Eosinophils infiltration was significant in group 5. After the treatment with Ful, TGF-β1 expression did not change and IL-6, IL-17A expressions were decreased in lung of the mice that inhaled OVA. It was not enough for Ful to relieve the neutrophil aggregation and improve inflammatory reaction in lung.

CONCLUSIONThe expressions of TGF-β1, IL-6, IL-17A in lung of the mice with OVA allergy were increased markedly after they inhaled specific antigen, which caused serious inflammation that was induced by neutrophil infiltration in lung. Ful could decrease the expressions of IL-6, IL-17A to some extent, but it was not enough to improve pathologic state in lung.

Administration, Inhalation ; Animals ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; cytology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; immunology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Immunohistochemistry ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-17 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Lung Diseases ; immunology ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Neutrophils ; drug effects ; immunology ; Oleanolic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Ovalbumin ; adverse effects ; immunology ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of oral administration of type II collagen (CII) on adjuvant arthritis (AA) in rats and its mechanisms, and to compare the effects of CII with those of the Chinese traditional medicine Tripterygium Polyglycoside administered similarly.

METHODSArthritis was induced in rats by immunization using Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA). After feeding rats either soluble CII or Tripterygium Polyglycoside, changes in degree of articular swelling and articular histological findings were observed in AA rats. Some correlative immunological indexes were measured, including delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction, anti-collagen and anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT) antibody in serum, and levels of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in articular steep in rats.

RESULTSOral administration of CII was able to alleviate both distinctly articular and general symptoms in AA rats, suppress synovium hyperplasia and inflammatory cells infiltration in arthrosis capsule. The effects brought about by CII were stronger than those by Tripterygium Polyglycoside. Oral administration of CII inhibited antigen-specific immune response, such as DTH and antibody reaction to CII. In addition, the expression of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in joints were locally downregulated.

CONCLUSIONSThe therapeutic effect of oral administration of CII is obvious on adjuvant arthritis in rats. Its remedial mechanisms are likely related to the downregulation of both IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, and the suppression of cell immunity.

Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Antibodies ; blood ; Arthritis, Experimental ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Collagen Type II ; therapeutic use ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; prevention & control ; Immune Tolerance ; Interferon-gamma ; biosynthesis ; Male ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; immunology ; Phytotherapy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Synovial Membrane ; pathology ; Tripterygium ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; biosynthesis

OBJECTIVETo assess the preventive effects of different dietary regimens on development of eczema and food allergy in infants at high-risk for allergy.

METHODSForty-six infants whose parents were atopic and umbilical cord IgE > 0.35 kU/L were enrolled in the study. The infants were randomly assigned at birth to one of 2 dietary regimen protocols: those in intervention group (23 cases) were breast fed till more than 4 months of age, then followed by feeding with partially hydrolyzed formula (pHF), combined solid foods avoidance until 4-month of age, egg, fish, shrimp avoidance until 12-month of age. The other 23 cases in non-intervention group were breast fed for less than 4 months, or bottle fed with cow's milk-based formula, egg yolk was introduced at 4-month of age, and egg white at 6-month of age, besides, no any other dietary avoidance was applied. All the infants were followed-up for 18 months. The primary end point was the presence of atopic eczema. Food allergy was detected by fresh food prick-to-prick tests or in vitro sIgE or Fx5E.

RESULTSAt 6 months, 12 months and 18 months, the incidence of eczema in intervention group was 4.3% (1/23), 8.7% (2/23), and 17.4% (4/23), respectively, which was significantly reduced as compared to that of the non-intervention group, which was 26.1% (6/23), 34.8% (8/23), and 39.1% (9/23), respectively. Food allergy was found in 13.0% (3/23) of intervention group and 34.8% (9/23) of non-intervention group by skin prick tests or sIgE. Egg white was the most common offending food.

CONCLUSIONEarly life dietary interventions which included breastfeeding, delayed solid food introducing, pHF feeding, and high risk food avoidance could reduce the risk of atopic eczema and food allergy development, and was probably an effective primary intervention method for infants at high risk for atopy.

Breast Feeding ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; diet therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; immunology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Food Hypersensitivity ; complications ; diet therapy ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; blood ; Infant ; Infant Formula ; methods ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Mothers ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome