Enhancing effect of dietary oil emulsions on immune responses to protein antigens fed to mice

Repeated intragastric administration of beta-lactoglobulin (beta-Lg) with e mulsified soybean oil elicited an antigen-specific, systemic humoral immune response in different strains of mice. The antibody response was enhanced as the dose of oil was increased and the particle size of emulsions was dec reased. Feeding of aqueous beta-Lg could induce the antibody response only when emulsified oil was fed almost simultaneously. However, the emulsion-dr iven humoral immune response was not observed when mice were treated with a nti-CD40 ligand antibody or in athymic mice. It is likely that the intestin al coexistence of emulsified oil with dietary antigens modulates the immune system to crucially support B cell response. A practical application of th e present results to the prevention of cow's milk protein sensitization in infants is proposed. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.