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Defective tumor necrosis factor‐α production in infants with cow’s milk allergy
Author(s) -
Österlund Pamela,
Järvinen Kirsimarjut,
Laine Seppo,
Suomalainen Hanna
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
pediatric allergy and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.269
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1399-3038
pISSN - 0905-6157
DOI - 10.1034/j.1399-3038.1999.00034.x
Subject(s) - medicine , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , milk allergy , allergy , immunology , tumor necrosis factor alpha , cow's milk allergy , immune system , interferon gamma , population , cytokine , food allergy , in vitro , biology , biochemistry , environmental health
As an aid to clarifying the role of immune mechanisms in the development of cow’s milk allergy (CMA) in suckling infants, we studied the capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to produce tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) in vitro . The study population consisted of 43 infants, aged 0.12–11.2 months; of these, 31 had challenge‐proven cow’s milk allergy manifested with either skin or gastrointestinal symptoms or both. In addition, 12 healthy infants were studied as controls. The spontaneous, unstimulated and mitogen‐induced production of TNF‐α and interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) by isolated peripheral blood leukocytes was evaluated. TNF‐α and IFN‐γ production of PBMC was significantly lower in infants with cow’s milk allergy than in healthy children. Our results indicate that, in infants with CMA, the function of TNF‐α‐producing cells is defective. This might disturb the development of oral tolerance and thereby lead to cow’s milk allergy. These results may help to clarify the etiopathology of CMA.