Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms Involved in Food Allergy and Food Tolerance

Dear Colleagues,

A food can be a friend or foe depending on the immunological mechanisms encountered with its ingestion, but also on the alimentary habits, the environmental effect, the microbiota and other parameters. Food normally is immunologically tolerated thanks to complicated interactions mediated by the gut-associated lymphoid tissue. There are strong indications by both clinical studies and animal models that stomach acid and digestion enzymes have a protective effect from hypersensitivity induction, contributing to the denaturation of potentially immunogenic food allergens.

Mechanisms related to the function of microfold cells of the intestinal epithelium, of antigen-presenting dendritic cells and T regulatory lymphocytes, determine the future tolerance or the occurrence of an allergic reaction. An open window of determining immune tolerance is critical in early life, depending on food exposure; reduced exposure or impaired tolerance may have significant impact on allergic diseases later in life. Moreover, it appears that molecules like vitamin D and retinoic acid participate in the induction of tolerance.

In this special issue of Cells we invite articles on food allergy or food intolerance. Reviews on focused issues, experimental studies, clinical trials on products for oral tolerance induction, articles on clinical issues regarding the broad field of food hypersensitivity and preliminary data on experimental laboratory studies, are welcomed.

We wish that “Molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in food allergy and food tolerance” will be an exciting special issue of Cells.

Dr. Constantinos Pitsios
Dr. Emilia Vassilopoulou
Guest Editors

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• food hypersensitivity
• food intolerance
• allergens
• immunity, cellular
• immunity, humoral