# The pig: A novel large animal model of allergic eosinophilic esophagitis

> **NIH NIH R21** · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · 2020 · $232,280

## Abstract

Food allergy is an increasing health problem with impacts on both children and adults. Despite the increasing
impact of food allergy on human health and the US economy ($25B in children alone) and extensive research
efforts, there is still no cure for food allergies. One of the devastating symptoms of food allergies is a disorder
known as eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) where the reaction to foods causes severe inflammation in the
esophagus (throat). The swelling is painful and prevents the ingestion of solid foods. Children and adults of any
age can develop EoE; children can fail to thrive, and EoE can progress in adolescents and adults to esophageal
strictures which cause dysphagia and food impaction. In this proposal funds are requested to develop a new,
translational, large animal model for EoE. We propose using young, food allergic pigs, as a model for human
EoE. The pig combines high biological relevance based on their similarities to humans with a well-equipped
immunological toolbox to study relevant disease-related immune responses. We believe that this large animal
model will strongly impact research into EoE, and food allergy in general, and hasten development of new
treatments and diagnostic procedures. Drawing on the NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine, the
College of Sciences, and the School of Medicine at UNC we have assembled an interdisciplinary team with
expertise in porcine immunology, the porcine gastrointestinal tract, and the clinical diagnosis and treatment of
food allergy and EoE. Our preliminary, short term experiments show that we can indeed produce food allergic
pigs (egg allergic) and we have observed the onset of inflammation in the esophagus. We are requesting funds
to create a long-term state of chronic egg allergy to induce EoE in pigs, as it appears in humans. In addition,
funding will be used to fully characterize the clinical and immunological features of disease. Once complete our
model will be ready for scientists to test new treatments to slow or reverse disease or develop new diagnostic
tests for early detection of EoE and food allergy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9876272
- **Project number:** 1R21AI149098-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Tobias E Kaeser
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $232,280
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9876272

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9876272, The pig: A novel large animal model of allergic eosinophilic esophagitis (1R21AI149098-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9876272. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*