BioPark Hertfordshire, Welwyn Garden City
23rd October 2009
9:00 – 9:45 Registration 9:45 – 10:00 Morning Session - Introduction by the Chair: Professor Claudio Nicoletti, Institute of Food Research,Norwich, UK 10:00 – 10:30 The early life origins of food allergy Professor John O Warner, Director of Research for The Women & Children's Clinical Programme Group, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust As there are differences in cord blood mononuclear cell responses to foods and occasionally raised IgE levels in those newborns destined to develop food allergy, sensitisation must have occurred in utero. The foetal small bowel has mature lymphoid follicles from 14 weeks gestation and sensitisation to allergens can be detected from 22 weeks gestation. The relationship between concentration of food exposure and allergy is complex with both very low and high exposures associated with reduced rates of sensitisation. Maternal health and nutrition, allergic status, frequency of antibiotic use all affect outcomes. Post-natally various environmental factors modify risks, including microbial exposure with a particular focus of gut flora. 10:30 – 11:00 Factors affecting the development of food allergy Professor Ian Kimber, University of Manchester, UK This presentation will explore the factors that influence the acquisition of allergic sensitisation to dietary proteins. Among those that will be considered are: the factors that confer on proteins the ability for induce allergic responses, the basis for inter-individual differences in susceptibility to food allergy, and the impact that exposure (route, timing and duration of exposure) has on the development of sensitisation. 11:00- 11:10 Speakers photo 11: 10 – 11:30 Mid-morning break
11:30 – 12:00 Oral tolerance versus food allergic sensitization Professor Stephan Strobel, Director of Postgraduate Clinical Education and Chair of the Peninsula Postgraduate Health Institute The Peninsula Medical School Clinical non-responsiveness to food antigens (Oral Tolerance) is the mucosal default mechanism in about 95% of the population. Timing of antigen (food) administration during the peri- and postnatal period are important, although their effects on the development of tolerance or food allergies are still not entirely understood. The primary mechanisms by which tolerance may be mediated indicate a central immunoregulatory of T lymphocytes which secrete Transforming Growth Factor beta and Interleukin 10. Additional mechanisms include T cell deletion, anergy, suppression, and apoptosis. This presentation will summarise our understanding of the underlying mucosal immunoregulatory events. The role of innate immunity and the effects of probiotics and specific tolerance induction will be assessed. 12:00 – 12:30 New treatment options in food allergy Professor Jonathan Hourihane, University College Cork, Ireland
12:30 – 12:34 Introduction to the Biopark 12:45 – 13:45 Lunch and Poster Viewing 13:45 – 14:00 Afternoon Session - Introduction by the Chair: Professor Claudio Nicoletti, Institute of Food Research,Norwich, UK 14:00 – 14:30 Oleosins; new and important allergens in legumes, nuts and seeds? Dr Laura .Zuidmeer, Academic medical Center, Amsterdam Patients clinically reactive to peanut, tree nuts and/or seeds can score negative in various diagnostic tests. Oleosins are oilbody-associated proteins that have been tentatively implicated in allergic reactions to these foods. We isolated natural oleosins from various sources, determined their allergenicity to nut and seed allergic patients and defined their presence in commercially available extracts. We conclude oleosins might play a role as highly prevalent allergens which can evoke systemic reactions, as association with oilbodies may protect from rapid proteolysis after ingestion. Due to extensive defatting of extracts used for in vitro diagnostics, oleosin-specific IgE can easily be missed. 14:30 – 15:00 Industrial dimensions of food allergy. René Crevel, Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, UK Food allergy is now recognised as a significant public health issue, which needs to be managed. Much experience has now been gained with such systems and the general principles that govern good practice are reasonably well understood. This presentation will briefly review the principles underlying allergen management, consider gaps in knowledge that limit the ability to assess the risk from allergens accurately and attempt to draw conclusions about the adequacy of current systems.
15:00 – 15:30 Afternoon Tea/Coffee and Last Poster Viewing
15:30 – 16:00 The allergenic potential of novel foods Dr. Jean-Michel WAL, Directeur du Laboratoire d'Immuno-Allergie Alimentaire, France
16:00– 16:30 Digestibility, allergenicity and the safety of novel proteins Emily Foster, University of Manchester Resistance to digestion is used as one of the criterion for the safety assessment of novel proteins. A more detailed appreciation of the relationship between digestibility and allergenicity is required. Here the hypothesis that protein allergenicity relates more closely with stability to digestion within antigen presenting cells (APC) than it does with stability to digestion with pepsin will be discussed. 16:30 – 17:00 Chairman’s summing up
18:00 Soiree at *The Best Western Homestead Court Hotel for all the participants
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