Abstract
Food allergy is a common health problem and can cause anaphylaxis. Avoidance of the offending food allergen is still the mainstay therapeutic approach. In this study, we investigated the role of plasma cell reduction by proteasome inhibition in a murine model of food allergy and examined the impact of this treatment on the systemic and local immune response. For this purpose, intestinal anaphylaxis was induced in BALB/c mice with the food allergen hazelnut, in conjunction with different adjuvants (alum and Staphylococcal enterotoxin B SEB) and different administration routes (oral and intraperitoneal). In both models, allergy symptoms were observed, but the clinical severity was more pronounced in the hazelnut-alum model than in the hazelnut-SEB model. Accordingly, allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) against hazelnut was detectable, and mast cell protease-1 in serum was increased after allergen provocation. Treatment with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib reduced plasma cells and resulted in an abolishment of hazelnut allergen-specific IgE, which was associated with amelioration of clinical symptoms as well as a significant decrease in both CD19(+) and follicular B lymphocytes. Our data demonstrate the importance of allergen-specific IgE in food allergy and point to B cells as potential therapeutic targets for its treatment.