| Sumario: | Food allergy, an adverse immune reaction triggered by commonly innocuous food proteins, is a health problem that affects millions of people worldwide (around 10% of the global population), and the most recent reports suggest its increasing progression [1,2]. Most of the allergic responses have been associated with milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish. Food allergy has been associated with both IgE- and non-IgE-mediated immune responses. In IgE-mediated food allergies, antigen-presenting cells capture, process, and present digested food proteins to T helper (Th) cells priming their differentiation towards Th2 cells and inducing the generation of allergen-specific IgE antibodies by B cell-derived plasma cells that bind to the high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) placed on mast cells and basophils. Subsequent allergen exposure generates the crosslinking of IgE antibodies bound on the surface of mast cells and basophils that induces their degranulation and the development of anaphylactic symptoms in sensitized subjects [3]. Although the physiopathology of non-IgE-mediated food allergies is not fully understood, the relevance of Th2-mediated responses triggered by food allergens has been reported as cause of many gastrointestinal diseases including eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), food protein-induced allergic proctocolitis (FPIAP), food protein-induced enteropathy (FPE), and food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES). This Special Issue is dedicated to the recent progress in molecular approaches that advances knowledge in the assessment of the allergenic potential of food components, as well as in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of food allergies.
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