Oral Tolerance Induced by Transfer of Food Antigens via Breast Milk of Allergic Mothers Prevents Offspring from Developing Allergic Symptoms in a Mouse Food Allergy Model
We examined whether maternal exposure to food antigens during lactation and maternal allergic status would affect the development of food allergy in offspring. OVA-sensitized or OVA-nonsensitized BALB/c female mice were exposed or unexposed to OVA during lactation. After weaning, their offspring wer...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2012-01-01
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| Series: | Clinical and Developmental Immunology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/721085 |
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| Summary: | We examined whether maternal exposure to food antigens during lactation and maternal allergic status would affect the development of food allergy in offspring. OVA-sensitized or OVA-nonsensitized BALB/c female mice were exposed or unexposed to OVA during lactation. After weaning, their offspring were systemically sensitized twice with OVA and repeatedly given OVA by oral intubation. While 97.1% of the mice breastfed by OVA-nonsensitized and OVA-unexposed mothers developed allergic diarrhea, 59.7% of the mice breastfed by OVA-exposed nonallergic mothers during lactation and 24.6% of the mice breastfed by OVA-exposed allergic mothers during lactation developed food allergy. Furthermore, OVA was detected in breast-milk from OVA-exposed nonallergic mothers during lactation (4.6±0.5 μg/mL). In addition, OVA-specific IgG1 titers were markedly increased in breast milk from allergic mothers (OVA-sensitized and OVA-unexposed mother: 11.0±0.5, OVA-sensitized and OVA-exposed mother: 12.3±0.3). Our results suggest that oral tolerance induced by breast milk-mediated transfer of dietary antigens along with their specific immunoglobulins to offspring leads to antigen-specific protection from food allergy. |
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| ISSN: | 1740-2522 1740-2530 |