BACKGROUND

Food allergies are a growing health problem, and the development of therapies that prevent disease onset is limited by the lack of adjuvant-free experimental animal models. We compared allergic sensitization in patients with food allergy or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) and defined whether spontaneous disease in Was mice recapitulates the pathology of a conventional disease model and/or human food allergy.

METHODS

Comparative ImmunoCAP ISAC microarray was performed in patients with food allergy or WAS. Spontaneous food allergy in Was mice was compared to an adjuvant-based model in wild-type mice (WT-OVA/alum). Intestinal and systemic anaphylaxis was assessed, and the role of the high-affinity IgE Fc receptor (FcεRI) in allergic sensitization was evaluated using Was Fcer1a mice.

RESULTS

Polysensitization to food was detected in both WAS and food-allergic patients which was recapitulated in the Was model. Oral administration of ovalbumin (OVA) in Was mice induced low titers of OVA-specific IgE compared to the WT-OVA/alum model. Irrespectively, 79% of Was mice developed allergic diarrhea following oral OVA challenge. Systemic anaphylaxis occurred in Was mice (95%) with a mortality rate >50%. Spontaneous sensitization and intestinal allergy occurred independent of FcεRI expression on mast cells (MCs) and basophils.

CONCLUSIONS

Was mice provide a model of food allergy with the advantage of mimicking polysensitization and low food-antigen IgE titers as observed in humans with clinical food allergy. This model will facilitate studies on aberrant immune responses during spontaneous disease development. Our results imply that therapeutic targeting of the IgE/FcεRI activation cascade will not affect sensitization to food.