Supplementation of Mice with Specific Nondigestible Oligosaccharides during Pregnancy or Lactation Leads to Diminished Sensitization and Allergy in the Female Offspring.

BACKGROUND: The maternal environment and early life exposure affect immune development in offspring. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether development of food allergy in offspring is affected by supplementing pregnant or lactating sensitized or nonsensitized mice with a mixture of nondigestible oligosaccharides. METHODS: Dams were sensitized intragastrically with ovalbumin before mating, with use of cholera toxin (CT) as an adjuvant. Nonsensitized dams received CT only. Dams were fed a control diet or a diet supplemented with short-chain galacto oligosaccharides (scGOSs), long-chain fructo oligosaccharides (lcFOSs), and pectin-derived acidic oligosaccharides (pAOSs) in a ratio of 9:1:2 at a dose of 2% during pregnancy or lactation, resulting in 7 experimental groups. After weaning, offspring were fed a control diet and ovalbumin-CT sensitized. Acute allergic skin responses (ASRs), shock symptoms, body temperature, and specific plasma immunoglobulins were measured upon intradermal ovalbumin challenge. Th2/Th1- and regulatory T cells were analyzed with use of quantitative polymerase chain reaction and flow cytometric analysis in spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, and blood. RESULTS: Supplementing sensitized pregnant or lactating dams with scGOS/lcFOS/pAOS resulted in lower ASRs in the offspring [offspring of sensitized female mice fed experimental diet during pregnancy (S-Preg): 48 ± 2.1 µm; offspring of sensitized female mice fed experimental diet during lactation (S-Lact): 60 ± 6.2 µm] compared with the sensitized control group (119 ± 13.9 µm). In the S-Lact group, this coincided with an absence of shock symptoms compared with the offspring of sensitized female mice fed control food during pregnancy and lactation (S-Con) and S-Preg groups, and lower ovalbumin-IgG1 [S-Con: 3.8 ± 0.1 arbitrary units (AUs); S-Preg: 3.3 ± 0.1 AUs; S-Lact: 2.4 ± 0.1 AUs] and higher ovalbumin-IgG2a concentrations (S-Con: 1.1 ± 0.1 AUs; S-Preg: 0.8 ± 0.1 AUs; S-Lact: 2.0 ± 0.1 AUs). Supplementing nonsensitized pregnant or lactating dams with scGOS/lcFOS/pAOS resulted in lower plasma ovalbumin-IgE [offspring of nonsensitized female mice fed experimental diet during pregnancy (NS-Preg): 1.6 ± 0.4 AUs; offspring of nonsensitized female mice fed experimental diet during lactation (NS-Lact): 0.3 ± 0.1 AUs vs. offspring of nonsensitized female mice fed control food during pregnancy and lactation (NS-Con): 3.1 ± 0.6 AUs] and ovalbumin-IgG1 (NS-Lact: 2.3 ± 0.3 AUs vs. NS-Con: 3.4 ± 0.3 AUs) concentrations in offspring. Ovalbumin-IgG2a plasma concentrations were higher in offspring of scGOS/lcFOS/pAOS-supplemented dams (NS-Preg: 1.1 ± 0.1 AUs; NS-Lact: 1.1 ± 0.1 AUs) than in those of unsupplemented, nonsensitized controls (0.4 ± 0.0 AUs). CONCLUSIONS: These data show impaired sensitization in offspring of scGOS/lcFOS/pAOS-supplemented mice. A number of the analyzed variables are differentially affected by whether supplementation occurs during pregnancy or lactation, and the outcome of dietary supplementation is affected by whether the mother has been sensitized to ovalbumin and CT.

Primary versus secondary immunoglobulin E sensitization to soy and wheat in the Multi-Centre Allergy Study cohort.

BACKGROUND: IgE sensitization to soy and wheat is classified as 'primary' when generated by food ingestion and 'secondary' when it as a consequence of primary sensitization to cross-reacting pollen antigens via inhalation. The age-specific relevance of these categories of sensitization throughout childhood is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To monitor the natural course of IgE sensitization against common food allergens in childhood in relation to sensitization against cross-reactive airborne allergens. METHODS: The German Multi-Centre Allergy Study with follow-up from birth to age 13 recruited initially 1314 children. IgE antibody levels against cow's milk, hen's egg, soy, wheat, mites, cat and dog dander, birch and grass pollens were tested. Longitudinal data were analysed from the 273 children with sera obtained at age 2, 5, 7 and 10 years of age. RESULTS: The point prevalence of sensitization (>1.0 kU/L) to milk and egg allergens progressively decreased from about 4% at 2 years to <1% at 10 years. By contrast, the prevalence of IgE to wheat and soy progressively increased with age, from 2% to 7% (soy) and from 2% to 9% (wheat). At 10 years of age, IgE to grass pollen was detected in 97% and 98% of the children reacting against soy and wheat, respectively; IgE to birch pollen was observed in 86% and 82% of the children reacting against soy and wheat, respectively. Early IgE sensitization to soy or wheat preceded that to grass or birch pollen in only 4% and 8% of participants sensitized to soy and wheat, respectively. CONCLUSION: IgE sensitization to soy and wheat is relatively uncommon and mostly primary in early infancy, more frequent and mostly secondary to pollen sensitization at school age. Clinical Implications Awareness should be raised to avoid unnecessary diet restrictions due to the high frequency of clinically irrelevant, secondary sensitization to soy and wheat in schoolchildren with pollinosis.

A comparison of different allergometric tests, skin prick test, Pharmacia UniCAP and ADVIA Centaur, for diagnosis of allergic diseases in children.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of allergic disease is performed by skin prick tests (SPT) or through the demonstration of specific IgE in a blood sample via an in vitro test. The measurement of IgE concentration against allergens provides critical information in clinical allergy. Standardized and reproducible methods contribute to the quality of diagnosis and treatment of allergic disease. METHODS: In this study we evaluated the performance of a new specific IgE method, developed by ALK-Abellò for Bayer Diagnostics to run on their ADVIA Centaur immunoassay system. One hundred and fifty-one children with allergic diseases (both food and inhalant allergies) were tested for specific IgE (sIgE) via SPT and in vitro tests (UniCAP system, Pharmacia, and ADVIA Centaur immunoassay system, Bayer Diagnostics) and the test results were correlated with the clinical data. RESULTS: Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between the two in vitro tests compared with clinical history. The sensitivities and specificities are similar, but the UniCAP system method has higher sensitivity. In the children with cow's milk allergy, the UniCAP system has sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 70%; the ADVIA Centaur immunoassay has sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 74%. In hen's egg allergy, UniCAP system has 94% sensitivity and 64% specificity, and the ADVIA Centaur system has 88% sensitivity and 52% specificity. In inhalant allergies, the two methods show statistically similar performances for both grass pollen allergies (UniCAP sensitivity 100%, specificity 73%; ADVIA Centaur sensitivity 95%, specificity 79%) and in the dust mites allergies (UniCAP sensitivity 91%, specificity 62%; ADVIA Centaur sensitivity 86%, specificity 64%). In cat allergies, the systems showed equivalent results (UniCAP sensitivity 100%, specificity 71%; ADVIA Centaur sensitivity 100%, specificity 70%). Using the UniCAP system, the geometric mean of sIgE values in children with clinical allergy is significantly higher than in sensitized ones. The ADVIA Centaur system shows a similar trend with the exclusion of cow's milk and Dermatophagoides farinae allergens. With this last method the mean value of sIgE is higher in sensitized than in symptomatic children. CONCLUSION: The new ADVIA Centaur method compares favorably with the results obtained on the UniCAP system. If other studies continue to confirm this data, then the advantages are numerous: the use of only a small quantity of serum (25 micro l per allergen), rapid turnaround time, minimal hands-on time, and no interference from IgG.