oxytocin and Food-Hypersensitivity

Food allergy is a growing healthcare problem worldwide, but prophylactic options and regulatory therapies are limited. Oxytocin (OXT), conventionally acknowledged as a hormone, was recently proven to have potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities in certain diseases. Here, we reported the novel function and its underlying mechanisms of OXT on food allergy in vivo and in vitro. We showed that the levels of OXT were elevated in ovalbumin (OVA)-allergic mice and patients with food allergy. In HT-29 cells, OXT inhibited the production of the epithelial cell-derived cytokines thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin (IL)-25 and IL-33 by suppressing NF-κB signaling, in which β-arrestin2 participated. These functions of OXT were abolished by oxytocin receptor (OXTR) depletion. Treating OVA-induced BALB/c mice with OXT suppressed TSLP, IL-25 and IL-33 production and attenuated systemic anaphylaxis and intestinal inflammation. OXTR

Topics: Adult; Animals; Child, Preschool; Cytokines; Epithelial Cells; Female; Food Hypersensitivity; Humans; Infant; Inflammation; Intestines; Male; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Knockout; Middle Aged; Oxytocin; Receptors, Oxytocin; Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin; Young Adult

Topics: Anesthesia, Obstetrical; Breast Feeding; Colic; Colostrum; Drug Hypersensitivity; Female; Food Hypersensitivity; Humans; Infant; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Infant, Newborn; Lactation; Lactation Disorders; Massage; Milk, Human; Mother-Child Relations; Oxytocin; Physician-Patient Relations; Pregnancy; Prolactin