Abstract
The aim of this study was to look for the presence of IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies against two widely consumed foods, wheat and milk, in a relatively large number of specimens. As wheat, milk, and their antigens have been found to be involved in neuroimmune disorders, we measured the co-occurrence of their antibodies against various neural antigens. We assessed the reactivity of sera from 400 donors to wheat and milk proteins, GAD-65, cerebellar, MBP, and MOG. Statistical analysis showed significant clustering when certain wheat and milk protein antibodies were cross-referenced with neural antibodies. Approximately half of the sera with antibody elevation against gliadin reacted significantly with GAD-65 and cerebellar peptides; about half of the sera with elevated antibodies against α + β-casein and milk butyrophilin also showed antibody elevation against MBP and MOG. Inhibition studies showed that only two out of four of the samples with elevated cerebellar or MOG antibodies could be inhibited by gliadin or α + β-casein, confirming individual variation in epitope recognition. We conclude that a subgroup of blood donors, due to a breakdown in immunological tolerance, may react and produce significant levels of antibodies (p-values less than 0.05) against wheat and milk antigens that cross-react with different neural antigens, which may have broader implications in the induction of neuroimmune reactivities.
Highlights
Given the variety and abundance of foods available in the marketplace, eating is an enjoyable life experience
These findings are supported by the detection of significantly higher levels of IgG and IgA antibodies in disease sufferers compared to normal controls. In these studies it was concluded that active immune response against cow’s milk proteins plays a putative role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders [7,20,21,22,23,24,25]. Despite these elevations in the IgG and IgA antibodies against wheat and milk proteins in blood samples of patients with various autoimmune disorders, the immunopathological role of these antibodies were not examined in the context of celiac disease in the IgE and non-IgE mediated reactivities [9,10,26,27,28,29]
Concomitant with the increase of IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies against wheat, α- and γ-gliadin, milk, α + β-casein, and milk butyrophilin, in a small subgroup of individuals we observed a significant increase in GAD-65 (Figure 2D–F), cerebellar peptide (Figure 3A–C), myelin basic protein (MBP) (Figure 3D–F), and myelin oligodendrocytes glycoprotein (MOG)
Summary
Given the variety and abundance of foods available in the marketplace, eating is an enjoyable life experience. For some individuals consuming certain foods can be a pathological, possibly life-threatening event. This is why the Roman philosopher Lucretius said, many years ago, that one man’s food may be another man’s poison. Such is the case with food allergies and sensitivities [1]. The discussion about food allergy and sensitivity, in particular with regards to gluten and casein, and associated health problems has grown over the last decade. Classical food allergies are becoming more prevalent and recognized in our society. It is estimated that 5%–6% of children and 3%–4% of adults may have IgE-mediated or immediate type hypersensitivity to various food antigens [2,3]
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