Krstić Ristivojević Maja, Apostolović Danijela, Smiljanić Katarina
Center of Excellence for Molecular Food Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institute and University Hospital, 17164 Stockholm, Sweden.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Sep 17;11(9):2713. doi: 10.3390/ani11092713.
Food hypersensitivity reactions are adverse reactions to harmless dietary substances, whose causes are hidden within derangements of the complex immune machinery of humans and mammals. Until recently, enterocytes were considered as solely absorptive cells providing a physical barrier for unwanted lumen constituents. This review focuses on the enterocytes, which are the hub for innate and adaptive immune reactions. Furthermore, the ambiguous nature of enterocytes is also reflected in the fact that enterocytes can be considered as antigen-presenting cells since they constitutively express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules. Taken together, it becomes clear that enterocytes have an immense role in maintaining oral tolerance to foreign antigens. In general, the immune system and its mechanisms underlying food hypersensitivity are still unknown and the involvement of components belonging to other anatomical systems, such as enterocytes, in these mechanisms make their elucidation even more difficult. The findings from studies with animal models provide us with valuable information about allergic mechanisms in the animal world, while on the other hand, these models are used to extrapolate results to the pathological conditions occurring in humans. There is a constant need for studies that deal with this topic and can overcome the glitches related to ethics in working with animals.
食物过敏反应是对无害饮食物质的不良反应，其原因隐藏在人类和哺乳动物复杂免疫机制的紊乱之中。直到最近，肠上皮细胞还仅被视为为不需要的肠腔成分提供物理屏障的吸收细胞。本综述聚焦于肠上皮细胞，它是先天性和适应性免疫反应的中心。此外，肠上皮细胞的模糊性质还体现在其可被视为抗原呈递细胞这一事实上，因为它们组成性表达主要组织相容性复合体（MHC）II类分子。综上所述，很明显肠上皮细胞在维持对外源抗原的口服耐受性方面具有巨大作用。一般来说，免疫系统及其食物过敏的潜在机制仍然未知，而属于其他解剖系统的成分（如肠上皮细胞）参与这些机制使得对其阐明更加困难。动物模型研究的结果为我们提供了有关动物界过敏机制的宝贵信息，而另一方面，这些模型被用于将结果外推至人类发生的病理状况。一直都需要处理该主题且能克服与动物实验伦理相关问题的研究。
