Evaluation of the impact of food technology on the allergenicity of cow's milk proteins.
The quantitative evaluation of the allergenicity of food proteins and the clinical tolerance towards antigens are problems the food industry and the clinicians have to face. The allergenicity of a protein depends on multiple factors, including the stability to digestion and the interaction with the intestinal environment. In addition to the possible reduction in allergenicity by technological treatments such as heat and enzymic hydrolysis, the complex interactions existing between the antigens, the intestinal epithelium and the underlying immune system, as well as the individual susceptibility to the sensitizing epitopes, have to be taken into account. Indeed, the intestinal cells are able to take up and process proteins, and possibly to present them directly to mucosal lymphocytes. On the other hand, pathophysiological conditions can modify the interactions between food antigens and the immune system. A large number of methods has been developed to assess the residual antigenicity of food proteins, based on the various immune responses leading to intestinal or extradigestive pathologies. Thus, the difficulty in measuring the residual allergenicity of hypoallergenic formulas is partly due to the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract, since an intricate network of interactions between enterocytes and immune cells governs the development of the immune response to food antigens.
Heyman
M
M
INSERM E9925, Faculté de médecine Necker-Enfants malades, Paris, France. heyman@necker.fr
D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D005524:Food Technology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D016269:Milk Hypersensitivity; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
D000485:Allergens; D008894:Milk Proteins