The road to allergy

Immunofluorescent staining to show a protein body (red) within an M-cell (green).

A UK scientist has discovered the route and type of transport taken by peanut proteins through the gut to the immune system. This route favours an immune response, which helps explain why peanuts are one of the most allergenic foods.


Dr Claudio Nicoletti from the Institute of Food Research, said: “Food allergy is an immune system over-reaction to a food protein. The cause of this over-reaction has remained a mystery. Our aim was to identify the route that proteins from digested peanuts take to the lymphoid tissue of the gut where immune responses start”.

Firstly, using a digestion model, the research team found that digestion through the stomach and small intestine produces large amounts of soluble protein and intact protein bodies – large particle-like structures. Secondly, by labelling them with gold, Dr Nicoletti found that peanut proteins are delivered at high speed through the gut via M-cells.

M-cells are effective at rapidly delivering foreign bodies, including proteins, to defence cells. Protein bodies hitching a ride with M-cells are therefore likely to trigger defence cells into action. “Peanut proteins are delivered quickly, in large amounts and in highly immunogenic form to immune cells”, said Dr Nicoletti. “This may be important in explaining strong allergic reactions to peanuts”.

Peanuts frequently cause severe reactions, including potentially lethal anaphylaxis. Peanut allergy can be so severe that only very tiny amounts can be enough to trigger a response.

The neighbouring cells to M-cells are enterocytes. Proteins delivered via these cells are processed to form peptides, and when presented to the immune system are likely to induce tolerance. “This research shows that antigens have the ability to dictate the route of transport, and in doing so the type of immune response that follows”, said Dr Nicoletti.

This work was supported by a Strategic Grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, UK (to C.N.), and intramural funds of University of Siena, Italy (to E.B.).

The research will be published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications in December and is available online through Science Direct: www.sciencedirect.com Six months ago Dr Nicoletti published research on a later stage in the allergic process, involving dendritic cells: http://www.ifr.bbsrc.ac.uk/Science/ScienceBriefs/careless.html

All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine

This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.

Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors