Abstract
There is no effective therapy for milk allergy. The role of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and probiotics in protection against allergy-related outcomes is still under investigation. The aim of the study was to evaluate the immunomodulative and therapeutic potential of yogurt drinks in cow’s milk allergy (CMA) management. We compared immunoreactivity of α-casein (α-CN), β-casein (β-CN), κ-casein (κ-CN), α-lactalbumin (α-LA), and β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) in 27 yogurt drinks fermented with different basic yogurt cultures, or yogurt cultures enriched with Lactobacillus plantarum and/or Bifidobacterium lactis strains, by competitive ELISA assay. Drinks with the lowest antigenic potential were used as allergoids for CMA therapy. BALB/c mice were sensitized via intraperitoneal injection of α-CN + β-LG mixture with aluminum adjuvant, and gavaged with increasing doses of selected low-immunogenic drinks (YM—basic, or YM-LB—enriched with L. plantarum and B. lactis) to induce tolerance. Milk- or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-dosed mice served as controls. Compared to milk, the immunoreactivity of proteins in drinks increased or decreased, depending on the bacterial sets applied for fermentation. Only a few sets acted synergistically in reducing immunoreactivity. The selected low-immunogenic drinks stimulated allergic mice for profiling Th2 to Th1 response and acquire tolerance, and the effect was greater with YM-LB drink, which during long-lasting interventional feeding strongly increased the secretion of regulatory cytokines, i.e., IL-10 and TGF-β, and IgA and decreased IL-4, IgE, and anti-(α-CN + β-LG) IgG1. The studies revealed variations in the potency of yogurt bacteria to change allergenicity of milk proteins and the need for their strict selection to obtain a safe product for allergy sufferers. The YM-LB drink with reduced antigenic potential may be a source of allergoids used in the immunotherapy of IgE mediated CMA, but further clinical or volunteer studies are required.
Highlights
Cow’s milk allergy (CMA) is common all over the world; the development of the industry in the production of novel food focused on people sensitive to milk proteins is limited.Nutrients 2020, 12, 3390; doi:10.3390/nu12113390 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrientsAvoiding milk products and all foodstuffs containing milk derivatives that may trigger an allergic reaction is still the only solution for allergists suffering from CMA
The α-LA immunoreactivity was generally reduced by adding L. plantarum, whereas, enhanced by B. lactis strains, and the final effect depended on the applied basic set (p < 0.05 in comparison to basic set, column “alone”; Figure 2A–C)
Our results showed that the applied therapy, i.e., the administration of increasing doses of low-immunogenic yogurt drink YM or YM-LB to allergic mice increased the secretion of IL-10 and TGF-β by Peyer’s patches (PPs) and SPL in response to the in vitro challenge with α-CN + β-LG (p < 0.05 in comparison to S-phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and S-M groups; Figure 6)
Summary
Cow’s milk allergy (CMA) is common all over the world; the development of the industry in the production of novel food focused on people sensitive to milk proteins is limited. Avoiding milk products and all foodstuffs containing milk derivatives that may trigger an allergic reaction is still the only solution for allergists suffering from CMA. This is difficult given the share and role of these proteins in the food industry and the human diet. The exclusion of milk proteins from the diet involves its wide limitation, which leads to negative nutritional, and social, psychological, and economic effects. There is still limited evidence that OIT can induce tolerance or unresponsiveness in CMA sufferers
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