NIH awards US$1.9M toward maternal immunoglobulin D research to tackle food allergy infant mortality

16 Aug 2021 --- A US$1.93 million award has been granted toward research into the impact of maternal immunoglobulin D (IgD) when transferred to a fetus during pregnancy. It is thought that IgD can protect against food allergies in neonatal infants and young children – something researchers hope can tackle global infant mortality.

The grant, which was awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will be used in a five-year research program by Dr. Kang Chen, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, US. 

“Our research will have a major impact on our understanding of the origin of allergies in newborns and children,” asserts Dr. Chen. 

The absence of effective treatments
The infant nutrition space has been diversifying and adapting to tackle common allergies and the potentially life-threatening consequences. 

Food allergies are a major cause of neonatal morbidity and also significantly affect young infants.Food allergies are a major cause of neonatal morbidity and also significantly affect young infants. While they can be fatal in the short-term, they are associated with long-term morbidity and result in heavy social and economic burdens, primarily through healthcare infrastructure.

No effective treatment is currently available for neonatal food allergies. 

Instead, mothers have to avoid or replace risk food types, which is often impossible due to the ubiquitous nature of some product types and, in many cases, limited supplies of alternatives.  

Enter IgD
A promising solution to this problem is IgD – an antibody isotype present in the blood and tissue fluids, including human respiratory mucosa. 

In his research, Dr. Chen discovered that IgD could play an important role in respiratory, immune defense by inhibiting pathogens’ mucosal adhesion and activating the antimicrobial and immune-amplifying functions of basophils (white blood cells). 

Dr.Chen found that IgD’s activation of basophils – a type of white blood cell – also suppresses immunoglobulin E (IgE)-induced allergic reactions. It was also found to increase food allergen-specific IgD production, which elevates children’s protection against food allergy after oral immunotherapy. 

It is noted that maternal tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (TDaP) vaccine and food exposure in pregnancy induce vaccine- and food-specific IgD production, which is transferred across the placenta to the fetus in humans and mice.

“Our studies have shown that maternal IgD, specific to vaccines or food, acts as a specific and prophylactic fetal immune education cue to protect neonates against food allergy,” says Dr. Chen. 

Fighting child allergies 
The research comes on the heels of various industry projects aimed at tackling food allergies in infants and young children. 

In June, Ready, Set, Food raised US$3.5 million in a funding round for its organic early allergen introduction system. The US-based company provides a daily supplement to gradually introduce babies to the top nine allergens in three different stages.

Last month, the PLATYPUS study found that Nestlé Health Science (NHSc)’s blend of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) is safe and beneficial for infants and young children with moderate to severe cow’s milk protein allergy.

By Louis Gore-Langton