Filaggrin mutations predispose to the persistence of egg and milk allergy

Published: June 14, 2022

Filaggrin gene mutations impair skin barrier function and play a major role in the etiology of eczema and associated allergic airways diseases. However, their role in the development and persistence of food allergies is still controversial. In the current issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), Kalb & Marenholz et al. conducted a genetic association study in 890 children with challenge-proven food allergy and 871 controls to investigate the effect of filaggrin mutations on food allergy in childhood.

Children with filaggrin mutations had an almost 3-fold increased risk for food allergy independent of the allergenic food: similar effects were found for hen’s egg, cow’s milk, peanut, hazelnut, fish, soy, cashew, walnut, and sesame. Moreover, the longitudinal observation of 684 children with hen’s egg and cow’s milk allergy enabled the analysis of the filaggrin mutations in the long-term disease course. Children with filaggrin mutations had a 3-fold increased risk for disease persistence.

This study indicates a key role of an impaired epithelial barrier in the development of food allergies. Furthermore, filaggrin mutations predispose to the persistence of hen’s egg and may prove to be clinically useful in the prediction of tolerance.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) is an official scientific journal of the AAAAI, and is the most-cited journal in the field of allergy and clinical immunology.

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