Oxford Biomedical Technologies, Inc. Riviera Beach, FL
Introduction: Inflammation plays a role in the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Foods can trigger and exacerbate IBS flare-ups and symptoms. Diet-induced inflammation is characterized by the release of cytokines as a common feature. The lack of evidence regarding which diet is ideal for IBS underlined the need for personalized and more precise dietary treatment options. The objective of this study was to determine in-vitro the degree of blood inflammatory cytokines release in response to food antigens exposure in subjects with IBS.
Methods: Blood samples were collected at Oxford Biomedical Technologies, Inc. from 12 subjects diagnosed with IBS. Whole blood was diluted with buffered physiologic saline, and then an aliquot was pipetted into eight reaction wells, each containing a single food extract. Following a predetermined incubation period at 37°C, all specimens were stored at -20°C until cytokine analysis were performed. Cytokines [interleukin-8 (IL) and IL-10)] reactivity to food antigens challenge was evaluated using Bio-Plex 200 System (Bio-Rad, CA). The IBS-Severity Scoring System (IBS-SSS) was used to measure the severity and intensity of symptoms. The questionnaire scores range from 0 to 500, with cutoffs rated as mild (75-175), moderate (175-300), and severe ( >300). The study received approval from an independent Institutional Review Board (IRB), and all statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 27.0 (IBM Corp., NY).
Results: Mean age was 52.2±17.5 years, 10 (83%) were female and had a BMI of 26.2±5.7 kg/m2. According to IBS-SSS scores, 8 (67%) of the subjects had moderate symptoms, whereas 4 (33%) had severe symptoms. We found statistically significant differences in IL-8 and IL-10 concentrations (pg/mL) release pre- vs. post-antigen exposure to broccoli [(2.17±0.75, P=0.016)]; corn [(1.25±0.44, P=0.018) and (-0.21±0.09, P=0.041)]; milk [(1.40±0.48, P=0.017); egg [(1.17±0.48, P=0.034)]; navy bean [(0.83±0.30, P=0.019) and (-0.14±0.01, P=.004)]; orange [(2.19±1.04, P=0.063)]; tomato [(2.77±1.15, P=0.038) and (-0.26±0.13; P=0.073)]; and wheat [(0.90±0.36, P=0.033) and (-0.27±0.08, P=0.011)] respectively.
Discussion: The findings from this study generate much-needed data to aid the understanding of non-physiological inflammatory responses to foods which can optimize targeted dietary therapy for IBS. Further work is needed to develop a diagnostic assay that could be used to create a precise and personalized diet for clinical practice.
