Staphylococcus aureus Enterotoxin B Is a Cofactor of Food Allergy beyond a Superantigen

Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B (SEB), one of the most common bacterial toxins in food contamination, has been poorly understood in relationship to food allergy outcomes. To investigate whether the ingestion of enterotoxins in food allergens could affect the development of food allergy, OVA-sensitized female BALB/c mice were challenged with OVA added with different doses of SEB or LPS. Allergic symptoms, such as diarrhea rate and hypothermia, could be aggravated in mice challenged with OVA and a low dose of SEB. The increased differentiation of Th2 and reduced expression of CD103 in dendritic cells was found in mice coexposed to SEB and OVA. Additionally, there was an increasing differentiation of Th1 induced by a high dose of SEB. The expression of ST2+ in intestinal mast cells was also increased in mice sensitized with a low dose of SEB and OVA. Employing several in vitro cell culture models showed that the secretion of IL-33 from intestinal epithelial cells and IL-4 from group 2 innate lymphoid cells, activation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, and differentiation of naive T cells were induced by SEB and OVA. Our work proved that challenge with low-dose SEB and OVA partly aggravated the food allergy, suggesting a (to our knowledge) new finding of the potential cofactor of food allergy and that the contamination of SEB in food allergens deserves attention for allergic and normal individuals.