🐭 Asthma pill halts food shock

A genetic screen pinpointed dipeptidase 1 (DPEP1)—an enzyme that degrades leukotriene D4 (LTD4)—as a key determinant of susceptibility. In resistant mice, goblet cells transported less allergen; inhibiting DPEP1 (with cilastatin), deleting Dpep1, or giving LTD4 increased allergen transport and risk, whereas pretreatment with zileuton blocked allergen absorption and prevented oral anaphylaxis.

A news report summarizing the papers notes that zileuton is an FDA‑approved asthma therapy and, in the mouse models used, dramatically reduced food‑induced anaphylaxis; the team has launched a small, early human study to explore whether this approach can transiently protect people at high risk of accidental exposure.

Why it matters

These findings identify a route-specific pathway—gut mast cells and leukotrienes—that drives severe reactions to ingested allergens. Because zileuton already exists as a medication, the work suggests a feasible repurposing strategy to temporarily lower risk during unavoidable exposure scenarios, pending confirmation in people.

ELI5 Summary

Some mice get scary reactions when they eat an allergen (like peanut). Scientists found a “gut alarm” chemical (called leukotrienes) that helps more allergen slip through the gut wall and kick off that reaction. When they gave the mice zileuton—an asthma pill that turns down that alarm—the mice didn’t have the bad reaction after eating the allergen. (It didn’t help when the allergen was injected straight into the blood—so this seems gut‑specific.)

A second study asked why some mice with “allergy flags” in their blood stay fine after eating the food. It pointed to a gut enzyme called DPEP1 that acts like a cleanup crew for the alarm chemical. When this cleanup is weak, more allergen sneaks across the gut; turning down the alarm with zileuton blocked that sneaking and stopped the eating‑triggered reaction in sensitive mice.

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Stay curious,
Anthony Ao
The PhDLevel Team
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