Partially Hydrolysed Whey-Based Infant Formula Improves Skin Barrier Function.

Specific partially hydrolysed whey-based infant formulas (pHF-W) have been shown to decrease the risk of atopic dermatitis (AD) in infants. Historically, AD has been associated primarily with milk allergy; however, defective skin barrier function can be a primary cause of AD. We aimed to ascertain whether oral supplementation with pHF-W can improve skin barrier function.

Novel approach to visualize the inter-dependencies between maternal sensitization, breast milk immune components and human milk oligosaccharides in the LIFE Child cohort.

Background: Numerous studies have shown that specific components of breast milk, considered separately, are associated with disease status in the mother or the child using univariate analyses. However, very few studies have considered multivariate analysis approaches to evaluate the relationship between multiple breast milk components simultaneously.

Aim: Here we aimed at visualizing breast milk component complex interactions in the context of the allergy status of the mother or the child.

Transcriptomic Analysis Links Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Atopic Dermatitis.

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is commonly associated with concomitant atopic diseases including atopic dermatitis (AD) and allergic airway (AA) diseases including asthma. Despite this link and the shared pathologic features across these three disorders, detailed analyses of the unifying molecular pathways are lacking. We sought to investigate the mRNA expression profile overlap between EoE, AA, and AD and to identify the involvement of interleukin 13 (IL-13) in modulating gene expression.

Oral Tolerance Induction to Newly Introduced Allergen is Favored by a Transforming Growth Factor-β-Enriched Formula.

Food allergies have become a major healthcare concern, hence preventive efforts to ensure oral tolerance induction to newly introduced antigens are particularly relevant. Given that transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) plays a key role in immune tolerance, we tested whether an infant formula enriched with TGF-β would improve oral tolerance induction. A partially hydrolyzed whey protein-based formula was enriched with cow's-milk-derived TGF-β (TGF-β-enriched formula) by adding a specific whey protein isolate (WPI).

Identification of epicatechin as one of the key bioactive constituents of polyphenol-enriched extracts that demonstrate an anti-allergic effect in a murine model of food allergy.

Polyphenols are naturally derived bioactive compounds with numerous reported health benefits. We have previously reported on the beneficial effect of a polyphenol-enriched apple extract in a murine model of food allergy. The objectives of the present study were to elucidate the class of bioactive polyphenols that exhibit a beneficial anti-allergic effect and to assess whether the protective effect matches the in vivo bioavailable metabolite concentrations.

Bifidobacterium bifidum NCC 453 promotes tolerance induction in murine models of sublingual immunotherapy.

Background: Enhancing clinical efficacy remains a major goal in allergen-specific immunotherapy. In this study, we tested three strains of bifidobacteria as candidate adjuvants for sublingual allergy vaccines.

Methods: Probiotic candidates were evaluated in human monocyte-derived dendritic cell (h-DC) maturation and CD4(+) T-cell polarization in vitro models and further tested in murine models of sublingual immunotherapy in BALB/c mice sensitized to either ovalbumin or birch pollen.

Lactococcus lactis NCC 2287 alleviates food allergic manifestations in sensitized mice by reducing IL-13 expression specifically in the ileum.

Objective: Utilizing a food allergy murine model, we have investigated the intrinsic antiallergic potential of the Lactococcus lactis NCC 2287 strain.

Methods: BALB/c mice were sensitized at weekly intervals with ovalbumin (OVA) plus cholera toxin (CT) by the oral route for 7 weeks. In this model, an oral challenge with a high dose of OVA at the end of the sensitization period leads to clinical symptoms.

Increased IL-5 and IL-13 cytokine level in ex vivo stimulated whole blood cells from grass pollen allergic donors correlate with seasonal exposure.

There is a need for simple and physiological assays to characterize the immune status of allergic individuals. Whole blood samples from 15 adult subjects (10 with positive clinical history to grass pollen and 5 with negative clinical history) were obtained before the start (April 2010) and during the middle of the grass pollen season (June 2010). The investigators were blinded to the allergic status of the subjects.

CD8+ cytotoxic T cells induce relapsing colitis in normal mice.

Background & Aims: Most mouse models of IBD have emphasized an effector role of type-1 CD4+ T cells in colitis. The aim of this study was to develop a model of antigen-specific relapsing colitis to investigate the relative contribution of CD4+ and CD8+ effectors.

Methods: Balb/C mice were sensitized and challenged with a suboptimal dose of 2.

The inhibition of MAPK pathway is correlated with down-regulation of MMP-9 secretion induced by TNF-alpha in human keratinocytes.

MMP-9 (92 kDa) is the major gelatinase able to degrade collagen IV, secreted by keratinocytes that are actively involved in wound-healing or tumorigenesis. Since the invasive phenotype of cancers is dependent on MMP-9 expression, it appeared of interest to precisely characterize which signal transduction pathways activated by TNF-alpha are involved in MMP-9 up-regulation induced by TNF-alpha. In HaCaT cells, activation of MMP-9 occurs at the transcriptional level.