The study investigated whether dietary methionine (Met) affects egg weight and antioxidant status through regulating gene expression of ovalbumin (OVAL), nuclear factor erythroid 2 like 2 (Nrf2) and haem oxygenase 1 (HO-1) in laying duck breeders. Longyan duck breeders (n 540, 19 weeks) were randomly assigned to six treatments with six replicates of fifteen birds each. Breeders were fed diets with six Met levels (2·00, 2·75, 3·50, 4·25, 5·00 and 5·75 g/kg) for 24 weeks. The egg weight (g), egg mass (g/d), feed conversion ratio, hatchability, 1-d duckling weight, albumen weight, albumen proportion and OVAL mRNA level improved with dietary Met levels, whereas yolk proportion decreased (P<0·05). The weight of total large yellow follicles increased linearly (P<0·001) and quadratically (P<0·05) with dietary Met concentration, and their weight relative to ovarian weight showed a linear (P<0·05) effect. Dietary Met level had a linear (P<0·05) and quadratic (P<0·001) effect on the gene expression of glutathione peroxidase (GPX1), HO-1 and Nrf2, and quadratically (P<0·05) increased contents of GPX and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in liver of duck breeders. In addition, maternal dietary Met enhanced gene expression of GPX1, HO-1 and Nrf2, increased contents of GPX and T-AOC and reduced carbonylated protein in the brains of hatchlings. Overall, dietary Met concentration affected egg weight and albumen weight in laying duck breeders, which was partly due to gene expression of OVAL in oviduct magnum. A diet containing 4·0 g Met/kg would achieve optimal hepatic GPX1 and Nrf2 expression, maximise the activity of GPX and minimise lipid peroxidation.

Bisphenol A (BPA), a monomer of polycarbonate plastics and epoxide resin, is a high-production-volume chemical implicated in asthma pathogenesis when exposure occurs to the developing fetus. However, few studies have directly examined the effect of in utero and early-life BPA exposure on the pathogenesis of asthma in adulthood. This study examines the influence of perinatal BPA exposure through maternal diet on allergen sensitization and pulmonary inflammation in adult offspring. Two weeks before mating, BALB/c dams were randomly assigned to a control diet or diets containing 50 ng, 50 μg or 50 mg BPA/kg of rodent chow. Dams remained on the assigned diet throughout gestation and lactation until postnatal day (PND) 21 when offspring were weaned onto the control diet. Twelve-week-old offspring were sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA) and subsequently challenged with aerosolized OVA. Sera, splenocytes, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and whole lungs were harvested to assess allergen sensitization and pulmonary inflammation after OVA challenge. Serum anti-OVA IgE levels were increased two-fold in offspring exposed to 50 μg and 50 mg BPA/kg diet, compared with control animals. In addition, production of interleukin-13 and interferon-γ were increased in OVA-stimulated splenocytes recovered from BPA-exposed mice. Pulmonary inflammation, as indicated by total and differential leukocyte counts, cytokines, chemokines and pulmonary histopathology inflammatory scores, however, was either not different or was reduced in offspring exposed to BPA. Although these data suggest that perinatal BPA exposure beginning before gestation enhances allergen sensitization by increasing serum IgE and splenocyte cytokine production, a substantial impact of BPA on OVA-induced pulmonary inflammation in adulthood was not observed.

There is good clinical and experimental evidence that oral tolerance exists in man and that the timing of antigen (food) administration is an important factor in the development of food allergic sensitisation and disease. Induction of tolerance is often seen as a T-helper 2-skewed response, which on one side may prevent harmful mucosal immune reactions, but on the other side may contribute to adverse responses in the susceptible individual. The primary mechanisms by which tolerance may be mediated include T-cell deletion, anergy, suppression ‘ignorance’ and apoptosis. Cell-mediated delayed hypersensitivity reactions (T-helper 1), which are implicated as a pathogenetic principle in the development of autoimmune and gastrointestinal inflammation are particularly well suppressed. Regulatory events during the induction of tolerance (or sensitisation) are not well characterised and remain at times controversial. The balance between tolerance (suppression) and sensitisation (priming) is dependent on several factors, such as: (a) genetic background; (b) nature of antigen and dose of antigen; (c) frequency of administration; (d) age (maturity v. immaturity) at first antigen exposure; (e) immunological status of the host (e.g. virus infection); dietary exposure of the mother; (g) antigen transmission via breast milk, and others. Overall, there is evidence in rodents that multiple low-dose feeds are more likely to induce regulatory cytokines (e.g. transforming growth factor-β, interleukins 10 and 4) in part secreted by CD4+CD25+ T-regulatory cells. Despite the powerful suppressive effect of oral antigen exposure observed in experimental models, its application in clinical trials of autoimmune diseases has not yet yielded the expected beneficial results.

Food allergies or food intolerances affect nearly everyone at some point. “Food Allergy” refers to all interactions between molecules derived from the food supply and the immune system. Food allergies can be sub-divided into IgE (Immunoglobulin E) –mediated hypersensitivities and cell mediated hypersensitivities, but in most of the cases is IgE mediated. There has been an increased prevalence of food allergy reactions in the last decade. Approximately 2–3% of adults and 5–7% of children are affected by food allergy. Hen's egg is one of the most common causes of food allergic reactions, particularly in children. The prevalence of egg allergy is about 35% of food allergic children. It usually disappears by age five to seven years, but may sometimes be lifelong. Egg white, which is generally considered more allergenic than egg yolk, has four major allergenic proteins namely, ovomucoid (Gal d 1), ovalbumin (Gal d 2), ovotransferrin (Gal d 3), and lysozyme (Gal d 4) which are defined as immuno dominant proteins of egg white in egg allergic patients. Detailed characterization of the biochemical, immunological and structural properties of the major two allergens of the egg white, the ovalbumin and the ovomucoid have been studied. Studies of the B cell and T cell epitopes of these allergens have been summarized and mechanisms to reduce allergic reactions of these proteins at their molecular level has been evaluated in detail.

Oral administration of raffinose, a naturally occurring indigestible oligosaccharide, has reportedly ameliorated atopic dermatitis in human subjects although the mechanism is unknown. The present study investigated the effect of dietary raffinose on allergen-induced airway eosinophilia in ovalbumin-sensitised Brown Norway rats as an atopic disease model. Brown Norway rats were immunised by subcutaneous injection with ovalbumin on day 0 and fed either a control diet or the diet supplemented with raffinose (50 g/kg diet). The rats were exposed to aerosolised ovalbumin on day 20, and broncho-alveolar lavage fluid was obtained on the next day. The number of eosinophils in the fluid was significantly lower in the rats fed the raffinose diet than in those fed the control diet. Dietary raffinose significantly reduced IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA levels in lung tissue and tended to lower ovalbumin-specific Ig E levels. Suppression of eosinophilia by dietary raffinose was still observed in caecectomised and neomycin-administered rats, suggesting little contribution by the colonic bacteria to the effect of raffinose. Intraperitoneal administration of raffinose also suppressed eosinophilia. Significant concentrations of raffinose were detected in portal venous and abdominal arterial plasma after the intragastric administration of raffinose. Overall, the findings suggest that dietary raffinose ameliorates allergic airway eosinophilia at least partly via post-absorptive mechanisms in Brown Norway rats.