Researchers have pinpointed a localised biological mechanism behind irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic gastrointestinal condition where eating certain foods causes subsequent abdominal pain or discomfort.
Around 20% of people experience IBS, and diets such as gluten-free ones provide some relief. However, the exact cause was unknown, as the patients did not have allergic responses nor did they have coeliac disease, causing many physicians to dismiss it as psychological.A healthy immune system tolerates foods, and the first link is understanding how the tolerance is removed. Previous work showed that there was a link between mast cells and food, and that blocking histamine in people with IBS relieved the symptoms.
People with IBS often report their symptoms begin following a gastrointestinal infection, so the researchers reasoned that an infection associated with a particular type of food in the guy might sensitise the immune system to that food.The team fed mice with ovalbumin (an egg protein) and then infected them with a stomach bug. The mice were then fed ovalbumin again, and the researchers recorded elevated mast cell activation, histamine levels and digestive intolerance. In control mice who were fed with ovalbumin but who were not infected with the stomach bug, there was no response.
Breaking down the chain of events leading to the sensitisation, the researchers discovered that there was a localised immune response in the part of the guy infected by the bacteria, but did not produce the more generalised symptoms of a food allergy.
Lead author Prof Guy Boeckxstaens, a gastroenterologist at KU Leuven thinks this may point to a spectrum of food-related immune disorders. He said, “At one end of the spectrum, the immune response to a food antigen is very local, as in IBS. At the other end of the spectrum is food allergy, comprising a generalised condition of severe mast cell activation, with an impact on breathing, blood pressure, and so on.”
When researchers injected IBS-associated food antigens into the intestinal walls of IBS patients, they observed localised reactions similar to what they saw in the mice, and there were no reactions in healthy patients. Larger clinical trials will be needed to confirm these observations.
“This is further proof that the mechanism we have unraveled has clinical relevance,” Prof Guy Boeckxstaens said. “But knowing the mechanism that leads to mast cell activation is crucial, and will lead to novel therapies for these patients,” he goes on. “Mast cells release many more compounds and mediators than just histamine, so if you can block the activation of these cells, I believe you will have a much more efficient therapy.”
Source: Medical Xpress
Journal information: Local immune response to food antigens drives meal-induced abdominal pain, Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03118-2 , www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03118-2
