IGE ANTIBODIES AGAINST BOVINE SERUM-ALBUMIN IN A CASE OF EOSINOPHILICGASTROENTERITIS

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a disease characterized histologically by an eosinophilic infiltration of the gut. The cause of this disease remains unclear, although both food allergy and food intolerance have been implicated in its pathogenesis. We report the case of a 22-year- old man in whom gastrointestinal symptoms first appeared in childhood, with involvement of mucosa and muscularis layers of stomach and bowel . He presented high IgE blood levels, and his prick test was positive to bovine, pig, and lamb sera. Immunoblots from calf, pig, and lamb se ra, incubated with the patient's serum and revealed by autoradiography , demonstrated the presence of a 65-kDa protein band that was recogniz ed by IgE antibodies but not by IgG. This band corresponded to bovine serum albumin, while IgE did not show reactivity with human albumin. T hese data suggest a possible role for IgE-mediated hypersensitivity me chanisms in the pathogenesis of eosinophilic gastroenteritis.