Suppression of serum IgE response and systemic anaphylaxis in a food allergy model by orally administered high-dose TGF-β

Some epidemiological or association studies suggest that transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in breast milk may be a decisive factor in diminishing the risk of allergic diseases during infancy. The observations have prompted us to investigate whether TGF-β, when taken orally, can affect allergic immune responses. Repeated high-dose ovalbumin peptide (OVA) feeding was previously reported to induce OVA-specific IgE production and an anaphylactic reaction after intravenous challenge of OVA in OVA-TCR transgenic mice, which might represent a model for food allergy. By using this model, we showed here that oral administration of high-dose TGF-β simultaneously with OVA feeding significantly inhibited the OVA-specific IgE elevation and anaphylactic reaction in OVA-TCR transgenic DO11.10 mice. These effects were associated with suppression of OVA-specific IL-4 production and GATA-3 expression and with up-regulation of IFN-γ production and T-bet expression by splenocytes. Intra-peritoneal injection of anti-TGF-β-neutralizing antibody abolished the inhibitory effects of orally administered TGF-β on the serum IgE response and anaphylactic reaction after OVA feeding in DO11.10 mice. Interestingly, oral administration of high-dose TGF-β suppressed activation-induced T cell death induced by OVA feeding in DO11.10 mice. We thus conclude that TGF-β, when taken orally at high dose, has the capacity to modulate a food allergy-related reaction, at least in part, through its systemic activity.