Research Roundup, February 2025

February 20, 2025

This blog post is a research roundup of recent publications on eosinophilic diseases, including summaries, links, and citations for the following articles:

Immune System Reaction to Milk Proteins in Eosinophilic Esophagitis

A multi-institutional study led by researcher David A. Hill, MD, PhD, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), identified one of the allergens responsible for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) at a molecular level. The preliminary findings, published as a Correspondence Letter to The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, mark the first time researchers describe molecular details of how the immune system is recognizing food antigens in EoE. Based on this understanding of the milk allergen, the method could be replicated to identify other allergens that result in EoE. This work was supported by APFED donors through our HOPE Pilot Grant Award.

Julianna Dilollo, Alex Hu, Huiqi Qu, Karina E Canziani, Rachel L Clement, Sam J McCright, Wayne G Shreffler, Hakon Hakonarson, Jonathan M Spergel, Karen Cerosaletti, David A Hill. “A molecular basis for milk allergen immune recognition in eosinophilic esophagitis.” The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Online January 31, 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2025.01.008.

Six-Month Asthma Control Score on Mepolizumab Predicts Remission in Eosinophilic Asthma

According to data published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, among those with severe eosinophilic asthma who are treated with mepolizumab, a patient’s asthma control score at six-months while on this treatment is considered the “best predictor” of whether they will achieve remission in the 12 months that follow. “These results can be used to design a treat-to-target paradigm for asthma, in which treatment response is assessed at 6 months to predict clinical remission,” the study authors concluded.  View the abstract and visual summary.

Yuto Hamada, Peter G Gibso, Erin S Harvey, Sean Stevens, Hayley Lewthwaite, Michael Fricker, Vanessa M McDonald, Andrew Gillman, Mark Hew, Vicky Kritikos, John W Upham, Dennis Thomas. Early Treatment Response to Mepolizumab Predicts Clinical Remission in Severe Eosinophilic Asthma. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Volume 13, Issue 2, 333 - 342.e9

Exploring the Underlying Causes of Symptom Severity in Eosinophilic Esophagitis

The Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR) investigated the underlying causes of symptom severity in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) by analyzing gene expression in the esophagus. Findings suggest that the severity of symptoms in EoE may be related to changes in certain cells deep within the esophagus, not just the surface layer. This means that cells beneath the lining of the esophagus might play an important role in how EoE develops and how severe a person’s EoE symptoms become.

  • View the abstract and figures from the article published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
  • Read a blog post summarizing the study in the Rare Research Report by the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN).
  • Listen to an audio version of the summary.
Seung Kim, MD, MSa ∙ Netali Ben-Baruch Morgenstern, PhDa ∙ Kasumi Osonoi, MDa ∙ Seema S. Aceves, MD, PhDb ∙ Nicoleta C. Arva, MD, PhDc ∙ Mirna Chehade, MD, MPHd ∙ Margaret H. Collins, MDe ∙ Evan S. Dellon, MD, MPHf ∙ Gary W. Falk, MD, MSg ∙ Glenn T. Furuta, MDh ∙ Nirmala P. Gonsalves, MDi ∙ Sandeep K. Gupta, MDj ∙ Ikuo Hirano, MDi ∙ Girish Hiremath, MD, MPHk ∙ David A. Katzka, MDl ∙ Paneez Khoury, MD, MHSm ∙ John Leung, MDn ∙ Robbie Pesek, MDo ∙ Kathryn A. Peterson, MD, MScip ∙ Maria A. Pletneva, MD, PhDq ∙ Jonathan M. Spergel, MD, PhDr ∙ Joshua B. Wechsler, MD, MSs ∙ Guang-Yu Yang, MD, PhDt ∙ Marc E. Rothenberg, MD, PhDa ∙ Tetsuo Shoda, MD, PhD. Nonepithelial Gene Expression Correlates With Symptom Severity in Adults With Eosinophilic Esophagitis. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Volume 12, Issue 12, 3346 - 3355.e1. how the immune system is recognizing food antigens