Molecular aspects of milk allergens and their role in clinical events

Abstract

Milk allergy is the most frequent food allergy in childhood. Even though cases of newly developed milk allergy in adulthood are known, this allergy is less frequent in adults since it is normally outgrown by children during the first years of life. One of the reasons why allergy to cow's milk shows its highest prevalence in children is its early introduction into the diets of babies when breast feeding is not possible. The major allergens are caseins and beta-lactoglobulin, but allergies to other minor proteins (immunoglobulins, bovine serum albumin) have also been reported. Milk allergenicity can be reduced by various treatments (mainly hydrolysis), meaning that formulas based on cow's milk can often be safely fed to children allergic to milk proteins. Cross-reactivity has been described between different mammalian milks and between milk and meat or animal dander. Cross-contamination can result from inadequate cleaning of industrial equipment and constitutes a hidden danger for allergic subjects who unknowingly ingest milk proteins.

Efficacy of Oral Antigen Specific Immunotherapy on Desensitization of Some Autoimmune Diseases Associated with Milk Allergy

“…IgE antibodies can be used for diagnosis, prognosis, and follow up of patients with allergy-like symptoms and that high levels of casein-s IgE antibodies are strongly associated with milk allergy in children and might be associated with prolonged allergy. Also [4] found that the elevation of total IgE as a result of allergy may be due to extrinsic factors which increase the concentration of allergic antibodies of total IgE, leading to increase the severity of allergy. Furthermore a significant (p < 0.001) positive correlation was observed in the present results (r = 0.77) between specific IgE and total IgE suggested that a pattern of allergen-specific IgE sensitization occurs in relation to total IgE concentration as reported by [27].…”

“…The most important allergens in cow's milk are α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, and casein [4]. Food-induced allergic reactions are responsible for a variety of symptoms and disorders involving the skin and gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts and can be attributed to IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated mechanisms [2,5].…”

Allergenicity of Milk Proteins

“…Indeed, clinical challenge tests demonstrate that most CMA patients react to several protein fractions of cow's milk and each allergenic protein may have several epitopes, which are widely spread along the molecules. The cow milk proteins prevalently implicated in allergic responses in children are the whey proteins α-Lactalbumin (α-La)(Bos d 4) and β-Lactoglobulin (β-Lg) (Bos d 5), in addition to the casein (CN) fraction (Bos d 8) [24][25][26]. In adults, the predominant allergen is CN, whereas sensitization to whey proteins is rare.…”

Total serum IgE quantification by microfluidic ELISA using magnetic beads

“…However, as this study is dedicated to allergy, it is necessary to take into account the potential allergenicity of the blocking agent. Milk allergy is the most frequent food allergy among children, but it is less frequent in adults [27]. While milk contains around 20 different potentially allergenic proteins, only a few are recognized as major allergens, notably ß-lactoglobulin and casein [27].…”

“…Milk allergy is the most frequent food allergy among children, but it is less frequent in adults [27]. While milk contains around 20 different potentially allergenic proteins, only a few are recognized as major allergens, notably ß-lactoglobulin and casein [27]. Allergy to BSA is rare and this protein is considered as a minor allergen [28].…”