Department of Animal & Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
BMC Genomics. 2011 Jan 6;12:12. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-12-12.
Food allergy is a serious health concern among infants and young children. Although immunological mechanism of food allergy is well documented, the molecular mechanism(s) involved in food allergen sensitization have not been well characterized. Therefore, the present study analyzed the mesenteric lymph node (MLN) transcriptome profiles of BALB/c mice in response to three common food allergens.
Microarray analysis identified a total of 1361, 533 and 488 differentially expressed genes in response to β-lactoglobulin (BLG) from cow's milk, ovalbumin (OVA) from hen's egg white and peanut agglutinin (PNA) sensitizations, respectively (p < 0.05). A total of 150 genes were commonly expressed in all antigen sensitized groups. The expression of seven representative genes from microarray experiment was validated by real-time RT-PCR. All allergens induced significant ear swelling and serum IgG1 concentrations, whereas IgE concentrations were increased in BLG- and PNA-treated mice (p < 0.05). Treatment with OVA and PNA significantly induced plasma histamine concentrations (p < 0.05). The PCA demonstrated the presence of allergen-specific IgE in the serum of previously sensitized and challenged mice.
Immunological profiles indicate that the allergen dosages used are sufficient to sensitize the BALB/c mice and to conduct transcriptome profiling. Microarray studies identified several differentially expressed genes in the sensitization phase of the food allergy. These findings will help to better understand the underlying molecular mechanism(s) of food allergen sensitizations and may be useful in identifying the potential biomarkers of food allergy.
食物过敏是婴幼儿的严重健康问题。尽管食物过敏的免疫学机制已有充分记载，但食物过敏原致敏的分子机制尚未得到很好的描述。因此，本研究分析了 BALB/c 小鼠对三种常见食物过敏原反应的肠系膜淋巴结（MLN）转录组谱。
微阵列分析确定了牛β-乳球蛋白（BLG）、鸡卵清蛋白（OVA）和花生凝集素（PNA）致敏分别导致共 1361、533 和 488 个差异表达基因（p<0.05）。共有 150 个基因在所有抗原致敏组中共同表达。微阵列实验的七个代表性基因的表达通过实时 RT-PCR 进行了验证。所有过敏原均引起显著的耳肿胀和血清 IgG1 浓度增加，而 BLG 和 PNA 处理的小鼠 IgE 浓度增加（p<0.05）。OVA 和 PNA 的处理显著诱导了血浆组胺浓度的增加（p<0.05）。PCA 显示了先前致敏和挑战的小鼠血清中存在过敏原特异性 IgE。
免疫学特征表明使用的过敏原剂量足以使 BALB/c 小鼠致敏并进行转录组谱分析。微阵列研究在食物过敏的致敏阶段鉴定了几个差异表达的基因。这些发现将有助于更好地了解食物过敏原致敏的潜在分子机制，并可能有助于识别食物过敏的潜在生物标志物。
