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Review
. 2025 Apr;36(4):e70069.
doi: 10.1111/pai.70069.

New insights into the mechanisms of childhood food allergies

Liam Gubbels  1 , Richard Saffery  1   2 , Melanie R Neeland  1   2
Affiliations
Review

New insights into the mechanisms of childhood food allergies

Liam Gubbels et al. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

IgE-mediated food allergies are common and can be life-threatening, especially for children. With increasingly rapid advances in immunological technologies, including the ability to profile highly complex immune features from small sample volumes, our understanding of the immune mechanisms that underpin the development of food allergies continues to grow. This also extends to the immune mechanisms associated with the outcomes of oral immunotherapy (OIT). This review focuses on studies within the past 5 years related to immune signatures associated with food allergy in childhood, immune responses that determine reaction severities to offending allergens, immune alterations that occur during OIT in children, and immune effects of adjunct therapies including omalizumab, dupilumab, and abrocitinib. We conclude by providing a perspective on current evidence and directions for future research that will enable new prediction and screening tools and facilitate the development of effective curative strategies.

Keywords: childhood; food allergies; immune mechanisms; immunotherapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Summary of recent evidence on the immune mechanisms of childhood food allergy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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