Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the level of cytokines in cultures of cow's milk protein-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with cow's milk protein allergy.
Material and Methods:Eleven children with cow's milk protein allergy and 11 non-allergic controls were studied. Their peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured alone and in the presence of cow's milk α-lactalbumin; β-lactoglobulin; αS 1, αS 2, β, and κ-casein fraction mixtures; and a cow's protein mixture from whole milk. Production of cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-10, and interleukin-12 were determined in culture supernatants.Results: In cow's milk protein-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures of children with cow's milk protein allergy, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-10, and interleukin-12 production was significantly higher than in non-allergic controls (p<0.05). No difference in cytokine production was found between cultures obtained from unstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures of both cow's milk protein allergy and non-allergic controls.
Conclusions:The findings of this preliminary study align with data from the literature suggesting that the investigation of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-10, and interleukin-12 in cow's milk protein-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures of children may be taken in further consideration to explore whether they might have a predictive role for cow's milk protein allergy. Further studies are therefore needed to extensively investigate this issue. Keywords: Challenge, cow milk, cytokines, immunoglobulin, interleukin, tumor necrosis factor
Original Article
IntroductionCow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) is an adverse immunologic response to cow's milk proteins (1). In particular, four casein fractions (αS 1, αS 2, β, and κ-casein) and two whey proteins (α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin) are considered the most important allergenic proteins contained in cow's milk (2). Cow's milk protein allergy is one of the most common forms of food allergy in infants aged below 24 months in economically advanced countries (3) and its prevalence in this age group is estimated as 2-7.5%, whereas 5 to 15% of infants show symptoms suggesting adverse reactions to cow's milk components (4,5). Preventing the onset of inappropriate elimination diets in children with CMPA is important (4). In fact, the only effective treatment for CMPA is the total avoidance of cows' milk, which has to be replaced by appropriate substitutes (6), including soy formulas or casein, extensively hydrolyzed whey formulas or other mammalian milks such as goat's milk (7), which is frequently used although several studies raised concerns regarding its tolerability and safety, particularly in children (3,8,9).The immune reaction to cow's milk proteins is determined by immunoglobulin (Ig)-E or non-IgE-mediated type of response (10). Currently, the diagnosis relies both on IgE tests, such as the skin prick test, and measurement of serum-specific Ig...