Food allergy is a common disease affecting approximately 8% of children and 5% of
adults. The prevalence has increased over the last two decades, suggesting an important
environmental contribution to susceptibility. Studies have identified mode of birth,
pet exposure, and having older siblings as being significant risk modifying factors
in the development of food allergy. With the discovery that these factors significantly
impact the composition of the intestinal microbiome, which is known to play a critical
role in shaping the immune system, recent studies have begun to address the role of
the intestinal microbiota in the development of food allergy. Studies in human cohorts
support a dysbiosis in food allergy, and limited data suggest that this dysbiosis
occurs early in life, preceding the onset of sensitization. Studies from animal models
have clearly shown that the composition of the intestinal microbiota confers susceptibility
to food allergy, and that there are organisms such as Clostridia species that are
protective in the development of food allergy. Our understanding of microbial regulation
of food allergy is in its nascency, but the state of the field supports an important
contribution of intestinal microbes to susceptibility. Challenges going forward are
to identify commensal-derived microorganisms that could be used therapeutically to
prevent or perhaps treat food allergy.
Abbreviations:
IgE (immunoglobulin E), IgG (immunoglobilin G), SCFAs (short-chain fatty acids), TLR (toll-like receptor), OVA (ovalbumin), Tregs (regulatory T cells), IL-4 (interleukin-4), IL-22 (interleukin-22)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Translational ResearchAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Food allergy: epidemiology and natural history.Immunol Allergy Clin N Am. 2015; 35: 45-59
- Reduced severity of peanut-induced anaphylaxis in TLR9-deficient mice is associated with selective defects in humoral immunity.Mucosal Immunol. 2013; 6: 114-121
- Food allergy: epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2014; 133 (quiz 8): 291-307
- Prevalence of challenge-proven IgE-mediated food allergy using population-based sampling and predetermined challenge criteria in infants.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011; 127: 668-676
- Early regular egg exposure in infants with eczema: a randomized controlled trial.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013; 132: 387-392.e1
- Randomized trial of peanut consumption in infants at risk for peanut allergy.N Engl J Med. 2015; 372: 803-813
- Is there an association between microbial exposure and food allergy? A systematic review.Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2013; 24: 311-320.e8
- Delivery mode shapes the acquisition and structure of the initial microbiota across multiple body habitats in newborns.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010; 107: 11971-11975
- Dynamics and Stabilization of the human gut microbiome during the first Year of life.Cell Host Microbe. 2015; 17: 690-703
- Having older siblings is associated with gut microbiota development during early childhood.BMC Microbiol. 2015; 15: 154
- Milk- and solid-feeding practices and daycare attendance are associated with differences in bacterial diversity, predominant communities, and metabolic and immune function of the infant gut microbiome.Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2015; 5: 3
- Infant gut microbiota and the hygiene hypothesis of allergic disease: impact of household pets and siblings on microbiota composition and diversity.Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2013; 9: 15
- Human gut microbiome viewed across age and geography.Nature. 2012; 486: 222-227
- Development of the human gastrointestinal microbiota and insights from high-throughput sequencing.Gastroenterology. 2011; 140: 1713-1719
- Rate of establishing the gut microbiota in infancy has consequences for future health.Gut Microbes. 2015; 6: 321-325
- Dynamics of infant gut microbiota are influenced by delivery mode and gestational duration and are associated with subsequent adiposity.MBio. 2015; 6
- Patterned progression of bacterial populations in the premature infant gut.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014; 111: 12522-12527
- Altered fecal microbiota composition associated with food allergy in infants.Appl Environ Microbiol. 2014; 80: 2546-2554
- Allergy associations with the adult fecal microbiota: analysis of the American gut Project.EBioMedicine. 2016; 3: 172-179
- Inducible Foxp3+ regulatory T-cell development by a commensal bacterium of the intestinal microbiota.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010; 107: 12204-12209
- Infant gut microbiota and food sensitization: associations in the first year of life.Clin Exp Allergy. 2015; 45: 632-643
- Reduced diversity in the early fecal microbiota of infants with atopic eczema.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008; 121: 129-134
- Low diversity of the gut microbiota in infants with atopic eczema.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012; 129 (440.e1–2): 434-440
- Early-life gut microbiome composition and milk allergy resolution.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2016; ([Epub ahead of print])https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2016.03.041
- The microbial metabolites, short-chain fatty acids, regulate colonic Treg cell homeostasis.Science. 2013; 341: 569-573
- Dietary fiber and bacterial SCFA enhance oral tolerance and protect against food allergy through diverse Cellular pathways.Cell Rep. 2016; 15: 2809-2824
- Toll-like receptor 4 signaling by intestinal microbes influences susceptibility to food allergy.J Immunol. 2004; 172: 6978-6987
- Commensal bacteria protect against food allergen sensitization.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014; 111: 13145-13150
- Treg induction by a rationally selected mixture of Clostridia strains from the human microbiota.Nature. 2013; 500: 232-236
- Induction of colonic regulatory T cells by indigenous Clostridium species.Science. 2011; 331: 337-341
- Infant gut microbiota is protective against cow's milk allergy in mice despite immature ileal T-cell response.FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2012; 79: 192-202
- A microbiota signature associated with experimental food allergy promotes allergic sensitization and anaphylaxis.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013; 131: 201-212
- IgE-mediated systemic anaphylaxis and impaired tolerance to food antigens in mice with enhanced IL-4 receptor signaling.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011; 127 (e1–6): 795-805
- Commensal bacteria-derived signals regulate basophil hematopoiesis and allergic inflammation.Nat Med. 2012; 18: 538-546
- Toll-like receptor signaling in primary immune deficiencies.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2015; 1356: 1-21
- Intestinal microbial diversity during early-life colonization shapes long-term IgE levels.Cell Host Microbe. 2013; 14: 559-570
- Identifying gut microbe-host phenotype relationships using combinatorial communities in gnotobiotic mice.Sci Transl Med. 2014; 6: 220ra11
- MUCOSAL IMMUNOLOGY. The microbiota regulates type 2 immunity through RORgammat(+) T cells.Science. 2015; 349: 989-993
Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 13, 2016
Accepted:
September 2,
2016
Received in revised form:
August 15,
2016
Received:
March 26,
2016
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
