Association of STAT6 gene variants with food allergy diagnosed by double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges

This study describes the role of two STAT6 gene variants in food allergy using data of patients and their parents who underwent double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges (DBPCFCs). After quality control, 369 trios were analysed including 262 children (71.0%) with food allergy. Associations were tested by the Family based association test. The A alleles of both SNPs were associated with food allergy (P = .036 and P = .013 for rs324015 and rs1059513, respectively). Furthermore, these A alleles were associated with peanut allergy, higher sIgE levels to both peanut and cow's milk, more severe symptoms and higher eliciting doses during peanut and cow's milk DBPCFCs (all P < .05). In silico analysis indicates that the identified risk variants increase STAT6 expression which stimulates the differentiation of CD4 +  T cells to the Th2 subset. In conclusion, STAT6 variants may be involved in the pathophysiology of food allergy and their role seems to be independent of the allergenic food.