Molecular Biology at IIT

Food allergies are immune system responses to a food protein. Nut allergies are the most common type of food allergy in the United States. They affect more than 3 million people, primarily children, and are capable of causing allergic reactions ranging from rashes to anaphylactic shock and death. Worldwide, the prevalence of food allergies has increased dramatically. The number of American children suffering from food allergies increased 18 percent in the last 10 years. Researchers are working to determine why food allergies are increasing and to answer other related questions, such as why one child develops an allergy while others do not.

Illinois Institute of Technology and National Center for Food Safety and Technology investigators are interested in why some proteins tend to be allergens. There are thousands of proteins in the mature dry seeds of a plant, but only a dozen or fewer are known to be capable of eliciting an allergic response in atopic (predisposed to allergies) individuals from such a food source. Most plant-based food allergens belong to only a few protein families, although proteins are scientifically grouped into thousands of protein families.

IIT/NCFST investigators are interested in characterizing peanut and tree nut allergens structurally to understand the physical and chemical properties and biological activities that may play a role in determining or promoting their allergenicity; to understand the structural basis of possible allergic cross-reactivity; and to develop novel agents and vaccines to be used in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of food allergies.   More