IgE and IgD antibodies to cow milk and soy protein in duodenal fluid: effects of pancreozymin and secretin.

Duodenal fluid IgE was reported to be increased in food allergy and in inflammatory conditions of the bowel. We studied the presence and specificity of IgE and IgD antibodies against alpha-casein, beta-lactoglobulin A, alpha-lactalbumin, bovine serum albumin and soy bean agglutinin using an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Thirteen children with various intestinal diseases and thirteen normal adult volunteers were examined. In resting duodenal fluids, 8/13 of the children had IgE and 5/13 had IgD, while only 1/13 of the adults showed detectable IgE and IgD. After pancreozymin, 4/6 of the children and 4/8 of the adults showed detectable IgE and IgD in their duodenal fluids. After secretin, the duodenal fluids from 1/8 of the children and 2/8 of the adults had detectable IgE, while 6/13 children and 1/10 of the adults had IgD. The results indicate an increase in duodenal contents of IgE and IgD antibodies specific to cow's milk and soy protein after pancreozymin. Since this mediator is normally released during digestion, it is suggested that IgE and IgD antibodies specific for food proteins, may be involved in the physiological processing of foods in the intestine. In infants and children with gastrointestinal disease, the incidence of IgE and IgD antibodies specific for milk and soy proteins is higher in basal and pancreozymin-stimulated duodenal fluid when compared with control adults.