Alexander J Schuyler, Jeffrey M Wilson, Anubha Tripathi, Scott P Commins, Princess U Ogbogu, Patrice G Kruzsewski, Barrett H Barnes, Emily C McGowan, Lisa J Workman, Jonas Lidholm, Sheryl L Rifas-Shiman, Emily Oken, Diane R Gold, Thomas A E Platts-Mills, Elizabeth A Erwin
BACKGROUND: Allergen-specific IgG4 antibodies are often associated with tolerance, but specific IgG4 antibodies (sIgG4 ) to causally relevant foods have recently been reported in adult eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Prevalence and levels of food-sIgG4 are not well established in the general pediatric population. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate serum food-sIgG4 with component diagnostics in children with EoE and children from an unselected birth cohort and to explore the effects of sex, age and milk consumption on sIgG4 levels METHODS: Sera from 71 cases of pediatric EoE and 210 early-adolescent children from an unselected birth cohort (Project Viva) were assayed for sIgG4 and specific IgE (sIgE) to major cow's milk (CM) proteins (α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, caseins) and to wheat, soy, egg, and peanut proteins...
April 17, 2018: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology