title: Mechanisms of immune tolerance relevant to food allergy.
abstract: The intestine has an unenviable task: to identify and respond to a constant barrage of environmental stimuli that can be both dangerous and beneficial. The proper execution of this task is central to the homeostasis of the host, and as a result, the gastrointestinal tract contains more lymphocytes than any other tissue compartment in the body, as well as unique antigen-presenting cells with specialized functions. When antigen is initially encountered through the gut, this system generates a robust T cell-mediated hyporesponsiveness called oral tolerance. Although seminal observations of oral tolerance were made a century ago, the relevant mechanisms are only beginning to be unraveled with the use of modern investigational techniques. Food allergy is among the clinical disorders that occur from a failure of this system, and therapies that seek to re-establish tolerance are currently under investigation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA. brian.vickery@duke.edu
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Vickery
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Scurlock
authors.forename: Stacie M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: A Wesley
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Burks
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology