description
- Allergies are increasing continuously over the last 20 years and become a major public health problem. The industry modify food proteins with process which could affect food proteins properties and then deregulate their interaction with the immune system causing intolerance or allergies to newly created allergens or previously tolerated. Among human diet, wheat is one of the major food components and it is heavily modified during industrial food production. Wheat proteins are involved in induction of intolerance to gluten and food allergies and can be impacted by industrial food processes. The aims of the project IGIFA is to understand the impact of industrial process on the immune reaction development during food allergy. im 1: elucidating the effects of food processing on wheat proteins properties: Impact of processes on wheat features as well as their consequences on the development of immunity and physiopathology of allergy remains undetermined. We will determine the impact of heat, digestion and chemical modifications on proteins characteristics including solubility, aggregation state, particle size, biochemical and biological properties Aim 2: understanding the immune mechanism governing allergic reactions to food: The immune mechanisms involved in the development and regulation of a response to an allergen will be studied. Involvement of mast cells, basophils, Th1, Th2, Th17 and Th22 cell lineage during the sensitization and clinical phases will be analyzed. Thus, we will define how allergens properties affected by industrial processes impact on the immune mechanisms orchestrating the reaction to allergens. Aim 3: identifying how the transport of allergens across the intestinal epithelial barrier is affect by food proteins properties: We want to study the mechanisms underlying allergen recognition, trans-mucosal transport and presentation by antigen presenting cells during the early phase of sensitization to an allergen in culture systems.