Peanut Allergies Can Be Caused Due To Your Genes Say Scientists

According to recent research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, has identified a gene that may cause peanut allergy. The new research has opened a gateway into further studies that can identify the role played by genes in various allergies. This can improve the prognosis of an allergy as well as the treatment. A study published earlier this year says peanut allergy can be avoided in infancy itself.

The Allergy Causing Gene

The Gene that has been identified is called EMSY (c11orf30/EMSY) and plays a role in causing various allergies like eczema, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. This is the first research which has associated EMSY with food allergy.

“Food allergy is the result of both genetic and environmental factors, but there are surprisingly few data regarding the genetic basis of this condition,” says Dr. Daley, a Tier II Canada Research Chair at St. Paul’s in the genetic epidemiology of common complex diseases to Science Daily. “The discovery of this genetic link gives us a fuller picture of the causes of food allergies, and this could eventually help doctors identify children at risk.”

“Our team had previously published findings that a defect in the filaggrin gene can increase the risk of a child developing an allergy to peanuts,” says Dr. Asai. Yet, mutations in the filaggrin gene were only present in 20 per cent of the allergic cases, she points out, which means that “this GWAS study was critical to shedding more light on the specific gene mechanisms at play.”

“One of the hurdles in developing new treatments for food allergies is identifying the specific genes and pathways we need to target,” adds Dr. Eslami. “These results suggest that EMSY could be a useful target for predicting and managing food allergy treatments in the future.”