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Glutenin-induced life-threatening systemic anaphylaxis (GILTSA) is a serious food safety and public health issue growing at an alarming rate in the United States of America. A novel adjuvant-free mouse model of GILTSA was developed by Dr. Gangur and colleagues at Michigan State University. This model was used to test the following hypothesis in this thesis work: GILTSA will be associated with substantial elevation of a selective set of organ-specific immune biomarkers in the small intestine, liver, heart and lungs. Organs collected from mice with GILTSA (n = 10) and from 3 groups of healthy mice (n = 10 per group) were used in the analysis. Tissue protein extracts were used in protein microarray analysis of 640 immune biomarkers. Differentially expressed immune biomarkers were identified. The immune biomarkers markers that were increased by 25-fold or higher in mice with GILTSA compared to the control groups were identified as the most critical signature immune biomarkers of GILTSA as follows: In the small intestine, 2 signature immune biomarkers were identified; in the liver, 6 signature immune biomarkers were identified; in the heart, 12 signature immune biomarkers were identified; and in the lungs, 5 signature immune biomarkers were identified. These signatures were associated with the following immune pathways: Th2 immune activation pathways, cytotoxic immune activation pathway, tissue repair/remodeling pathway, metabolic regulation pathway, vascular integrity pathway, and immune homeostasis pathways. Some of the signature immune biomarkers identified may have therapeutic potential in GILTSA. Findings from this study have advanced the molecular mechanisms of GILTSA. This approach may also be used to identify signature immune biomarkers in other types of food anaphylaxis.
