Effect of dietary fat on skin reactivity against histamine, Th1 and Th2 cytokine levels and some serum parameters in mice

Changes in diet may be associated with the increase in allergic disease; change to high-calorie and high-fat diets may be a factor. In this study our objective was to determine skin reactivity of histamine and serum cytokine concentrations in mice fed diets containing different amounts of fat. Histamine reactivity was performed on mice back skin and serum cytokine concentrations were measured by ELISA in mice injected with anti-CD3 antibody. We measured serum interferon-gamma as a Th1-type cytokine and interleukin-4 as a Th2-type cytokine. Mice fed a high fat diet displayed enhanced skin reactivity of histamine and higher IL-4 levels in serum. These data suggest that a high fat diet may play a role in enhancing allergic reactions.