The induction of tolerance towards an allergenic food as a possible cure for the allergic child

The research activity aims to study the molecular mechanism underlying the process of desensitisation induced by real food in allergic subjects. IgE-mediated allergy to walnuts is widespread in Italy and is currently increasing, also due to the new lifestyles that the Italian population is acquiring with increased consumption of nuts.
The project is carried out in collaboration with the Allergology Service, Department of Paediatrics and Paediatric Specialities of the Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital – City of Health and Science of Turin, which selects the patients and performs the desensitisation process. The trial lasts 18 months with the administration of the food in the outpatient clinic every 3 months for a total of 7 intervention times during which the sera of the children undergoing desensitisation to walnut are also collected. At the ISPA Research Unit in Turin, blood sera from walnut-allergic children are used to identify, by western blotting and high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques, which allergens tend to lose recognition by specific IgE during the desensitisation process and which allergens are progressively more recognised by walnut-specific IgG4. The experiments will be carried out both on protein extracts from the raw and heat-treated (blanched or baked) product. Since walnuts are rich in fats, both water- and fat-soluble proteins (oleosins) will be extracted, being the last ones usually absent in the extracts currently available for the dosage of specific IgE towards walnuts performed in the hospital laboratory.