Neuroimmune circuits involved in β-lactoglobulin-induced food allergy

Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health

Ana Maria Caetano Faria¹  Thais Garcias Moreira²  Helder Carvalho Assis³  Luísa Lemos³  Mariana Almeida Oliveira³  Juliana Lima Alves³  Ana Cristina Gomes-Santos³  Maria Cecilia Campos Canesso³  Daniela Silva Reis³  Julia Gomes Lenzi⁴  Bruna Resende⁴  Danielle Aguiar⁴  Muiara Aparecida Moraes⁴  Luara Augusta Batista⁴  Luciana Melo⁴  Bruno Rezende Souza⁴  Barbara Kaori Miranda Sato⁵  Denise Carmona Cara⁵ 

[1] Centro Universitário UNA, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil;Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil;Departamento de Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil;Departamento de Morfologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil;

关键词: Food allergy;    β-lactoglobulin;    Ovalbumin;    Cow's milk;    Aversion;    Reward;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Several antigens can act as allergens eliciting IgE-mediated food allergy reactions when fed to sensitized animals. One of them is ovalbumin (OVA) which is the main allergen in egg white. Allergic mice develop aversion to OVA consumption. This aversive behavior is associated with anxiety, and it can be transferred to non-sensitized mice by injection of serum of allergic mice. However, it is yet to be determined whether altered behavior is a general component of food allergy or whether it is specific for some types of allergens. Cow's milk allergy is the most prevalent food allergy that usually begins early in life and β-lactoglobulin (BLG) is the milk component with the highest allergenicity. In this study, we investigated behavioral and neuroimmune circuits triggered by allergic sensitization to BLG. A neuroimmune conflict between aversion and reward was observed in a model of food allergy induced by BLG intake. Mice sensitized to BLG did not present aversive behavior when BLG was used for sensitization and oral challenge. Mice allergic to BLG preferred to drink the allergen-containing solution over water even though they had high levels of specific IgE, inflammatory cells in the intestinal mucosa and significant weight loss. When sensitized to OVA and challenged with the same antigen, mice had increased levels of neuron activation in the amygdala, a brain area related to anxiety. On the other hand, when mice were sensitized to OVA and received a mixture of BLG and OVA in the oral challenge, mice preferred to drink this mixture, despite their aversion to OVA, which was associated with neuron activation in the nucleus accumbens, an area related to reward behavior. Thus, the aversive behavior observed in food allergy to OVA does not apply to all antigens and some allergens may activate the brain reward system rather than anxiety and aversion. Our study provides novel insights into the neuroimmune conflicts regarding preference and avoidance to a common antigen associated with food allergy.

【 授权许可】

Unknown