Allergy, Asthma and Immunology: Nuts 'n' guts: transport of food allergens across the intestinal epithelium

Hypothesis & Experience

Open Access

Asia Pac Allergy. 2013 Oct;3(4):257-265. English. Published online 2013 October 31. http://dx.doi.org/10.5415/apallergy.2013.3.4.257
Copyright © 2013. Asia Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology.


Dwan Price,¹^,² Leigh Ackland,¹ and Cenk Suphioglu²
¹Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.
²NeuroAllergy Research Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia.
Correspondence: Cenk Suphioglu. NeuroAllergy Research Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Rd., Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, Australia. Tel: +61-3-5227-2886, Fax: +61-3-5227-1040, Email: cenk@deakin.edu.au

Received September 23, 2013; Accepted October 04, 2013.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
The increase in the incidence of food allergy is a growing problem for the western world. This review will focus on the findings from several macromolecular epithelial transport experiments and drug permeability studies to provide a recent comprehension of food allergen intestinal epithelial cell transport and the allergen-epithelial relationship. Specifically, this review will aim to answer whether allergens can permeate the intestinal barrier directly via intestinal epithelial cells, and whether this mode of transport affects downstream immune reactions. By improving our understanding of the interactions which take place during exposure of food allergens with the intestinal epithelium, we can begin to understand whether the epithelial barrier plays a major role in the allergic sensitization process rather than simply restricting the entry of allergens to the underlying lamina propria.