Food
allergies have been rapidly growing all over the world, with about two to ten
percent of children being affected in the United States. This growth in food
allergies has become a major health problem due to the fact that they can
potentially be life threatening, as well as their impact in the medical and
economic fields. The three most common food allergies in the United States are
peanut, egg, and milk. Peanut allergies
are considered to be one of the most fatal food allergies that are often life-long.
A research
team at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health began researching
the idea that genes could factor into food allergies. The team has discovered a
region in the human genome that is associated with children’s peanut allergies
in the United States. DNA samples of 1, 315 children and then 1,444 of their
biological parents were collected. Most of the children being tested had some
type of food allergy. The team scanned about 1 million different gene markers
throughout the entire human genome to try and find which genes if any
contribute to food allergies. The team discovered that on chromosome six, which
is the region that has genes like HLA-DQ and HLA-DR, is linked to peanut
allergies. This region of HLA-DQ and HLA-DR accounted for 20% of all of the
peanut allergies in this study.
Not everyone that had these
mutations developed a peanut allergy, which confused the team. They then
theorized that epigenetic changes could also be a factor. An epigenetic change
is when a methyl group attaches to the DNA, which causes the gene expression to
be altered but not the underlying code. So they concluded that the level of DNA
methylation determines if the peanut allergy will develop in people with the
susceptibility. These levels can be altered by environmental factors such as
in-utero or the first couple years of life. If these factors could be
identified this could lead to being able to discover treatment or prevention
plans.
Reference
It sounds like more research needs to be done to fully understand the role that genes may play in peanut allergies. But once it is better understood, that would be a great thing for those with peanut allergies and maybe eventually other food allergies, so they would not have to be so careful all the time to make sure they do not go into anaphylactic shock.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of DNA to sort through with that many subjects. It amazes me that they could identify the possible gene from all of the information in the human genome. I agree with Madeline that more research needs to be completed. They have only theorized that epigenetic changes were another factor, but more research needs to be completed to confirm this and hopefully develop treatments.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those annoying people that has a food allergy so this resonates with me. It's good to know that people are interested in learning more about food allergies and how they are caused. I hope this type of research can lead to some cures as well because it's not fun getting sick after accidentally ingesting food you weren't supposed to or getting dirty looks when you ask people to check that your food was prepared properly and so on.
ReplyDeleteIt is really good that researchers are learning about the genes related to peanut allergies. As they gather more information about the relationship between genes and peanut allergies, they move closer to a treatment that would help so many people who suffer from peanut allergies. Those with peanut allergies would not have to constantly worry about the ingredients in their food before they eat it or avoid certain places due to their food allergy.
ReplyDeleteAvoid summarizing summaries. Read the original literature and interpret it through your own lens.
ReplyDelete