title: Effects of Egg White Consumption on Immune Modulation in a Mouse Model of Trimellitic Anhydride-induced Allergy.
abstract: Egg allergy has been shown to be the most common food allergy in children with atopic dermatitis. Allergic reactions to proteins derived from egg white (EW) are more common than those derived from egg yolk. Ovomucoid, ovalbumin, ovotransferrin, and lysozyme have been identified as major allergens in EW. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of EW on immune modulation in an induced allergy mouse model. A total of 50 five-week-old BALB/c male mice were treated with trimellitic anhydride (TMA) for three weeks to induce allergy-like symptoms. The TMA-treated mice were rested for one week and then divided into five groups and fed 0, 10, 50, and 100 mg/d EW for four weeks. All EW consumption groups showed no significant increase or decrease in the populations of white blood cells; however, a significant increase in B-lymphocyte activity was observed in the fourth week. Furthermore, EW consumption did not influence serum immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin E levels. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the consumption of EW by TMA-treated mice did not increase allergic parameters such as serum IgE level, but enhanced the lymphocyte activities against pathogens. Therefore, this study suggests that the consumption of EW promotes Th2 immune modulation, and EW could be an excellent candidate for maintaining health.
authors.affiliation: Pourtry Science Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan 331-808, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji-Hyuk
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, College of Animal Bioscience and Technology, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyuk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Animal Products Utilization Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Wanju 565-851, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyoun Wook
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Bioscience, Research Institute for Biomedical & Health Science, College of Biomedical & Health Science, Konkuk University, Chungju 380-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Young
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: allergen; egg white; immunoglobulin; lymphocyte activation