Experimental food allergy models to study the role of innate immune cells as initiators of allergen-specific Th2 immune responses

Although our knowledge of the pathophysiology of food allergies has significantly improved over the last years, a more comprehensive understanding of basic immune mechanisms driving disease pathogenesis is important to develop new intervention strategies. The recent development of animal model systems recapitulating features of clinical food allergy provides an essential tool to study the immunology of IgE-mediated food allergies. While immunological effector responses have been well documented, how food allergic immune responses are initiated is not well defined. In this short review, we discuss the use of experimental mouse models both to study the role of innate immune cell populations in promoting disease and to test new treatment regimens that may prevent the onset of IgE-mediated food allergies.