Certain Gut Bacteria Can Block Food Allergies

A common type of gut bacteria known as Clostridia can effectively protect against food allergies, researchers reported.

Clostridia works by inducing immune system responses to prevent allergens from entering the blood stream and, therefore, preventing allergic reactions.
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Rates of food allergies in children have increased significantly in the past decade, a fact many researchers attribute to modern hygienic and dietary practices disrupting the normal bacterial composition of the body.

In order to better understand the role gut bacteria plays in the development of food allergies, researchers from the University of Chicago exposed germ-free mice, antibiotic-treated mice, and normal mice to peanut allergens, testing each group’s immune response.

Both bacteria-suppressed groups of mice has significantly higher levels of peanut allergy antibodies that the normal mice.

Researchers then found that by introducing Clostridia back into the mice, the reactions to the peanut allergens could be reversed. Clostridia was discovered as a potential protective agent through genetic analysis of the many forms of bacteria found in the gut. 

They found that Clostridia caused immune cells to produce high levels of interleukin-22, which decreases the permeability of the intestinal lining.  This reaction, therefore, prevented the allergens from leaving the intestine into the blood stream, preventing allergic reaction.

"The first step in getting sensitized to a food allergen is for it to get into your blood and be presented to your immune system. The presence of these bacteria regulates that process."

"There are of course no guarantees, but this is absolutely testable as a therapeutic against a disease for which there's nothing,” they concluded.

—Michael Potts

University of Chicago Medicine. Gut bacteria that protect against food allergies identified [press release]. 2014 August 25. http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2014/20140825-nagler.html. Accessed August 29