EPITOPE-SPECIFIC SUPPRESSION OF IMMUNE RESPONSE AGAINST β- LACTOGLOBUUN INDUCED BY ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF COW'S MILK WITH HEAT TREATMENTS

摘要

It has been well documented that oral administration of protein antigens commonly induces systemic immunological unresponsiveness to subsequent parenteral immunization, which is termed oral tolerance. Although this phenomenon is thought to be an immune regulation system preventing food hypersensitivity in healthy individuals, the overall mechanisms underlying the induction of oral tolerance and the onset of food allergy are not still well clarified. In this study, groups of mice were orally given with raw or heated cow's milk for a period of up to 2 months prior to intraperitoneal injections with bovine ￡ -lactoglobulin ( β -Lg), one of the most potent cow's milk allergens. Using this experimental system, we examined and compared the magnitude and epitope specificity of immunological tolerance observed in each group of the mice.