DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Food allergy is an increasing problem and one that is not yet fully understood. However, researchers from University Leipzig (Germany) and Georgetown University together with Cell Science Systems may have found the key to understanding the most difficult type of food allergies know as delayed food allergies or sensitivities.

“that neutrophils treated with foods that elicit positive LA (Leukocyte Activation through the ALCAT Test) responses can contain increased DNA levels of nuclear as well as mitochondrial origin”

Delayed food allergies or sensitivities (also referred to as non-IgE mediated food allergies) are difficult to identify because symptoms are less acute and may take hours or even days to develop. Home tests for delayed food allergy (sensitivity) detection, though popular, lack validation. Hence, there is a great need for a test that can accurately and cost-effectively identify food and food product triggers of delayed food allergies.

As reported in Allergy, Asthma Proceedings, May, 2021, researchers, supported by a grant from Pfizer Consumer Health, found what drives many non-IgE mediated delayed food allergy symptoms. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33980341/.

To understand this breakthrough, it is important to clarify key differences between immediate food allergies (IgE antibody-mediated) and the more subtle delayed type reactions, which are not antibody mediated:

Allergy, a termed coined in 1906 by Viennese physician Emil von Pirquet, was intended to denote altered reactions to environmental factors, both acute and delayed. However, Dr. von Pirquet’s contemporaries decided the term “allergy” should be reserved only for acute altered reactions that cause immediate symptoms, such as peanut allergy induced anaphylaxis.

In 1969 researchers discovered what causes immediate allergies – an antibody called Immunoglobulin E, or IgE – thus revolutionizing diagnosis by making blood testing for allergen-specific IgE an alternative to skin testing. This was, and still is, a major advancement; however, it does not address delayed food allergies.

As the cause of delayed type, non-IgE food allergies remained elusive, many people looked to another class of antibody analysis, IgG. However, numerous studies have found that IgG antibodies are not the answer. The production of these antibodies, in contrast with the much rarer occurrence of IgE antibodies (in a ratio of about 1 IgE antibody to every 10,000 IgG antibodies), is not a pathological finding and merely signals an exposure to the food in question and not a sensitivity – a classic case of confusing co-occurrence with causality. IgG antibodies are not only non-pathogenic but are actually protective and now commonly quantified as the most important marker of immunity against pathogens such as the SARS COVID-19 virus.

Recently, researchers at Yale discovered that innate immune cell reactions to specific foods, determined by the ALCAT Test provided by Cell Science Systems (Deerfield Beach, FL.), are responsible for delayed food allergies and release more DNA, and other associated proteins, when exposed to an ALCAT Test positive food. https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12986-018-0260-4.pdf

It is now known that cell-free DNA drives inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, COVID-19 fatality, cardio-metabolic diseases, and even cancer metastasis, thus linking specific foods with conditions that can impact almost any part of the body.

Having found that the ALCAT Test identifies foods that trigger release of DNA will revolutionize testing for delayed food allergies, just as years ago, the discovery of IgE revolutionized testing for immediate allergy. People suffering from migraine, arthritis, skin rashes, difficulty losing weight, perennial rhinitis, fatigue, gastrointestinal and many other conditions, achieve substantial relief by elimination of foods indicated by the ALCAT Test.

The released DNA is sometimes in the form of NETs (Neutrophil Extracellular Traps), an innate immune cell response intended to trap pathogens, but can, in susceptible people, cause systemic damage to host tissue.

NETs, since their discovery in 2004, have become actively researched. The following table shows NETs/disease related publications on the US Govt. website as of April, 2021.

The Georgetown/Leipzig team took it further. Working with the ALCAT Test as did the Yale group, their objective was a ”pilot study…designed primarily to convey the finding, and relevance of, mitochondrial DNA in the form of neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) as a new pathogenetic mechanism for innate immune-mediated non-IgE FA (food allergy).”

The research showed, “that neutrophils treated with foods that elicit positive LA (Leukocyte Activation through the ALCAT Test) responses can contain increased DNA levels of nuclear as well as mitochondrial origin” and concluded, “Analysis of our data suggested that the induction of NETs that contain proinflammatory mitochondrial DNA may provide the critical link necessary for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of non-IgE-mediated FA (food allergy). These discoveries may not only facilitate better diagnostic tests of FA but should also improve clinical management of allergic and other inflammatory diseases.” Use of the ALCAT Test® can help prevent abnormal immune responses thus alleviating disease burden and excessive healthcare expenditure. It is a boon for the many people who want to achieve their best possible health.

About Cell Science Systems, Corp. (CSS) www.CellScienceSystems.com

Cell Science Systems, a CLIA licensed lab and FDA registered medical device manufacturer, is the developer and sole provider of the ALCAT Test®. CSS also provides several tests aimed at nutritional assessment, gut health, metabolic function, and prevention. Cell Science Systems is the only company to have been recognized as Company of the Year, Food Intolerance Testing – North America by Frost & Sullivan.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary in Potsdam, Germany, CSS services Europe and Middle East. In partnership with PreviMedica Group, LLC, CSS also provides customized health programs and dietary and nutritional counselling to individuals, businesses, and organizations.