Peanut Allergy: Lymphocyte Response to Peanut Extract

摘要

Peanuts are the most common cause of serious life-threatening food allergy in both children and adults, since they are frequently responsible for food-induced anaphylactic reactions, which can result in death. Complete avoidance of peanuts is highly desirable in high-risk infants but can be a major problem because they are contained in a variety of prepared foods and snacks . Due to the increasing incidence of peanut allergy; early onset, severity of allergic reactions, difficulty of avoidance as well as the long persistence of the sensitivity, peanut allergy has become an important health concern. A few studies have evaluated the antigen-specific in vitro responses of peripheral blood lymphocytes. However, the literature is still scarce on the underlying cellular characteristics of peanut allergy. In the present study, we analyzed the peripheral proliferative response to peanut extract and cytokine production (IFN-γand IL-4) of peanut-stimulated PBMCs in peanut allergic patients.