title: Immunological basis of food allergy (IgE-mediated, non-IgE-mediated, and tolerance).
abstract: Food allergy includes a number of diseases that present with adverse immunological reactions to foods and can be IgE-mediated, non-IgE-mediated, or a combination of both mechanisms. IgE-mediated food allergy involves immediate hypersensitivity through the action of mast cells, whereas non-IgE-mediated food allergy is most commonly cell-mediated. These food allergies are thought to occur as a result of a breakdown in oral tolerance and, more specifically, from an aberrant regulatory T-cell response. Ongoing studies of experimental treatments for food allergy strive to induce oral tolerance and to teach us more about the pathogenesis of food allergy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C., USA.
authors.forename: Edwin H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Wesley
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Burks
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E