Allergen extraction: Factors influencing immunogenicity and sensitivity of immunoassays.

Food allergy prevalence is increasing worldwide, therefore there is a high demand for reliable tests to correctly diagnose this disease. Knowledge of proteins allergenicity and how they react both in the body and in diagnostic tests is necessary to adequately assess the potential immunogenicity of both natural foods and those produced through biotechnological processes. Thus, our aim was to analyze the factors that influence the protein extraction of foods in terms of, immunogenicity and immunoassays sensitivity.

Induction of food tolerance is dependent on intestinal inflammatory state.

Food allergies are usually managed by food avoidance. Hidden allergens in food, due to cross-contamination and/or allergenic additives added during production, place an important concern in today's increasing food allergy cases worldwide. Previous studies showed that the introduction of unacquainted food components, in an inflamed intestine, results in sensitization to this food.

Comparison of two techniques for a comprehensive gut histopathological analysis: Swiss Roll versus Intestine Strips.

Assessing the gut mucosa milieu is important to grade the inflammatory process in conditions such as food hypersensitivity, allergy, gut parasitosis, etc. However, the gastrointestinal tract comprises a challenging system to evaluate, due to its thin tubular structure and mucosa, which suffer fast autolysis after death. Irrespective of the preferred inflammatory score system, it is important to choose the technique that will render the best tissue analysis.

A histomorphometric classification system for normal and inflamed mouse duodenum-Quali-quantitative approach.

Gut-associated intestinal lymphoid tissue, the largest secondary lymphoid organ in the human body, constantly samples antigens from the gut lumen, presenting as a default response the activation of TCD4 FOXP3 regulatory T cells that secrete a profile of anti-inflammatory cytokines maintaining gut homeostasis denominated from an immunological perspective as mucosal tolerance. However, when antigens are sampled in an inflammatory setting, the immune response may either be protective, in the case of harmful pathogens, or cause further inflammatory reactions as in food allergy, inflammatory bowel diseases, coeliac disease or food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome. Therefore, there is a need for accurate and consistent experimental models.

Comparison between digital and optical microscopy: Analysis in a mouse gut inflammation model.

Virtual microscopy is currently widely used for various purposes, such as teaching, archiving, collaborations and research. Although the cost of this technique has reduced, it continues to be expensive for the majority of laboratories in developing countries. The Graduate Program in Pathology at the Federal Fluminense University (Niterói, Brazil) has acquired equipment for virtual microscopy.