# B cell memory in human food allergy

> **NIH NIH R01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2024 · $758,401

## Abstract

Summary
High affinity IgE antibodies are essential mediators of food allergy, a main cause of life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Most food allergies develop in childhood and affect children disproportionally. A long-standing question in the
allergy field is why allergies to some foods spontaneously cure, while others persist. A key to understanding the
evolution of food allergy may reside in the mechanisms that maintain the B cell memory of high affinity IgE
responses. Experimental studies from our group demonstrated that IgE cells exist mostly as plasma cells and
not IgE memory cells, and that high affinity pathogenic IgE antibodies derive from the sequential switching of
affinity matured IgG1 memory B cells. While the origin of human high affinity IgE is not definitely proved, an
increasing body of work supports a precursor role of IgG memory cells in the generation of human pathogenic
IgE plasma cells. We hypothesize that the existence of high affinity food-specific IgG cells and their ability to
undergo class switching to IgE are critical for allergy persistence. Preliminary studies from our group suggest
that atopic individuals harbor B lymphocytes with a distinct profile that increases their response to activation and
differentiation into IgE plasma cells. We postulate that the atopic immune environment marks allergen-specific
IgG memory cells with a ‘pro-allergic’ signature, and that the presence of these pro-allergic memory cells is
necessary for the development and persistence of food allergy. We propose to investigate the existence of pro-
allergic memory B lymphocytes in food allergic children, in children that outgrew their food allergy, in tolerant
never-allergic children, and in children with non-allergic inflammatory disease. We will determine if memory B
cells that recognize food allergens have a specific phenotype that distinguish them from memory B cells that
recognize virus and vaccines antigens in allergic and non-allergic children. We expect that the findings from this
study will provide tools to predict food-allergy risk and persistence, and help to design new therapies for allergic
diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10847372
- **Project number:** 5R01AI153708-04
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** MARIA A CUROTTO DE LAFAILLE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $758,401
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-06-09 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10847372

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10847372, B cell memory in human food allergy (5R01AI153708-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10847372. Licensed CC0.

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