Food allergy, as an abnormal or exaggerated immunologic response to specific food allergen, is thought to be the second wave allergy epidemic after asthma, with evidence of increasing prevalence. Anaphylaxes are generally believed to be affected by the combination with genetics, immune responses, and environmental factors. In the past decades, emerging evidence has indicated the causal relationship between intestinal microecology and food allergy. Interaction networks were formed between gut microbiota and organisms via direct contact and metabolic products, involved in the regulation and evolution of the immune system, which is particularly pivotal for maintaining immunologic homeostasis. Understanding the connections between gut microbiota and natural immunity may provide efficacious preventative and treatment strategies for food allergy.
Gut microbiota has been shown to participate in the pathogenesis and development of food allergy. However, little emphasis has been placed on the definite cause-and-effect relationship between food allergy and gut microbiota. Moreover, the potential mechanisms of microbial action on the immune system in food allergy, and the underlying protection of specific food components and microbiome species still remain largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this article collection is to gain new insights into the unique function of intestinal microecology and its mechanism in food allergy and immune tolerance, which may provide the underlying basis for supervising desensitization therapy for food allergy.
Original research and review papers are welcome. We encourage submissions that present the most recent progress and/or point out scientific directions that should be pursued in the future. Relevant topics (but are not limited to) include the following:
- Characterization and comparison of microbial profiles of individual food allergies
- Causation and mechanisms about the link between the composition of intestinal microbiota and development of food allergy
- Microbial therapeutics for food allergy (Diet, probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation)
Prof. Linglin Fu’s research team mainly works on food allergy and safety, which refers to biological mechanisms of food allergy and intestinal microbiota, the incidence of food allergy by intake of dietary advanced glycation end-products, as well as detection and quantification methodologies and allergenic risks of foods.
Prof. Huilian Che’s research team focuses on food allergy, food nutrition, and safety, to vigorously advance the management of food allergy, which mainly involves the following concerns: (1) Food allergen identification; (2) Allergenicity analysis and evaluation technology research; (3) Allergy mechanism exploration; (4) Anti-allergic food and technology research and development.
Prof. Zhenxing Li’s research team aims at making the world free from food allergy. Their research interests including: (1) Identification of new food allergens and their epitopes in different region; (2) Developing key technologies of risk assessment system of allergens in food industry; (3) Constructing new detection methods for allergens detection in processed foods; (4) Standardization of food allergens and food matrix which can be used in allergy diagnosis and detection.
