Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
UNC Food Allergy Initiative, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
Yale J Biol Med. 2020 Dec 29;93(5):669-673. eCollection 2020 Dec.
Tree nut allergies affect 1% of the United States population, are often severe in nature and rarely outgrown. Despite the severity and prevalence, there are no FDA-approved treatments for tree nut allergy. Development of a therapeutic would be expedited by having a mouse model that mimics the human disease. We utilized the CC027/GeniUnc mouse strain, which was previously identified as an orally reactive model of peanut allergy, to develop a model of walnut allergy. Mice were sensitized with walnut and cholera toxin for 4 weeks and subsequently challenged by oral gavage. Blood samples were collected to measure serum IgE. Walnut-sensitized mice produced high levels of walnut-IgE and were cross-sensitized to pecan. Oral challenges with walnut resulted in severe anaphylaxis and accompanying allergic symptoms. Importantly, pecan challenges also led to severe allergic reactions, indicating cross-reactivity to pecan. Overall, this novel mouse model reproduces key characteristics of human walnut allergy, which provides a platform to develop novel therapies and better understand sensitization mechanisms.
树坚果过敏影响美国人口的 1%，其性质通常较为严重，且很少会自行消退。尽管过敏情况严重且普遍，但目前尚无经 FDA 批准的树坚果过敏治疗方法。如果有一种能够模拟人类疾病的小鼠模型，那么治疗方法的开发将会加快。我们利用之前被鉴定为花生过敏口服反应模型的 CC027/GeniUnc 小鼠品系，开发了核桃过敏模型。小鼠用核桃和霍乱毒素致敏 4 周，随后通过口服灌胃进行攻毒。采集血样以测量血清 IgE。核桃致敏的小鼠产生了高水平的核桃-IgE，并且对山核桃产生了交叉致敏。口服核桃攻毒导致严重的过敏反应和伴随的过敏症状。重要的是，山核桃攻毒也导致了严重的过敏反应，表明对山核桃存在交叉反应。总体而言，这种新型小鼠模型再现了人类核桃过敏的关键特征，为开发新型疗法和更好地了解致敏机制提供了平台。
