title: Epigenetic Changes During Food-Specific Immunotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prevalence and severity of IgE-mediated food allergy has increased dramatically over the last 15 years and is becoming a global health problem. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that epigenetic modifications of the genome resulting from gene-environment interactions have a key role in the increased prevalence of atopic disease. In this review, we describe the recent evidence suggesting how epigenetic changes mediate susceptibility to food allergies, and discuss how immunotherapy (IT) may reverse these effects. We discuss the areas of the epigenome as yet unexplored in terms of food allergy and IT such as histone modification and chromatin accessibility, and new techniques that may be utilized in future studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Recent findings provide strong evidence that DNA methylation of certain promoter regions such as Forkhead box protein 3 is associated with clinical reactivity, and further, can be changed during IT treatment. Reports on other epigenetic changes are limited but also show evidence of significant change based on both disease status and treatment. In comparison to epigenetic studies focusing on asthma and allergic rhinitis, food allergy remains understudied. However, within the next decade, it is likely that epigenetic modifications may be used as biomarkers to aid in diagnosis and treatment of food-allergic patients. DNA methylation at specific loci has shown associations between food challenge outcomes, successful desensitization treatment, and overall phenotype compared to healthy controls.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.|Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Bunning
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.|Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Rosemarie H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: DeKruyff
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. knadeau@stanford.edu.|Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA. knadeau@stanford.edu.|Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford University School of Medicine, 269 Campus Drive, CCSR 3215, MC 5366, Stanford, CA, 94305-5101, USA. knadeau@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Kari C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Nadeau
mesh_terms: D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Atopy; DNA methylation; Epigenetics; Food allergy; Immunotherapy