Oral Administration of Ovalbumin Prevents Food Allergy via Improving Microbiota and Metabolic Disorders in a Dose-Dependent Manner
Shan Zhang, Qiang Shi, Yuhong Wu, Xiao Chen, Jingjing Li, Pingduo Chen, Yong Wu, Xin Li, Shuangyan Zheng, Jie Zhang, Zhongliang Wang, Hongbing Chen
Abstract
Food allergy (FA), triggered by specific dietary allergens, is a growing global concern regarding public health and food safety. Our previous studies suggest that early exposure to certain allergenic proteins can lower FA risk, but the dose-response relationship remains unclear. In this study, BALB/c mice received 0.1-10 mg of ovalbumin (OVA) by gavage before sensitization. 0.1 mg of OVA failed to prevent FA, with a diarrhea incidence of 75%. In contrast, 1 mg of OVA provided partial protection, reducing the diarrhea incidence to 25%, while 5 or 10 mg of OVA fully prevented allergic reactions. Besides, higher OVA doses better suppressed Th2 polarization and increased tolerogenic cDC1 cell frequencies. Importantly, 5 mg of OVA restored gut microbial diversity and ameliorated metabolic dysregulation, while lower doses showed no significant improvement compared to the FA group. Overall, the OVA pretreatment prevents FA in a dose-dependent manner by modulating gut microbiota and metabolism.