https://doi.org/10.17113/ftb.64.02.26.8892

Article in press

Development and Analytical Evaluation of a Microarray Assay for Quantitative Determination of Human Blood IgG to Food Antigens in the Italian Population

Veronica Mantovani^#, Federica Capitani^#, Francesca Maccari, Fabio Galeotti and Nicola Volpi^*

Department of Life Sciences, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Glycobiology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Unimore), Modena, Italy

Copyright © 2024 This is a Diamond Open Access article published under CC-BY licence. Copyright remains with the authors, who grant third parties the unrestricted right to use, copy, distribute and reproduce the article as long as the original author(s) and source are acknowledged.

Article history:

Received: 26 September 2024

Accepted: 2 December 2025

Keywords:

microarray; IgG evaluation; food antigens; food intolerance; food hypersensitivity

Summary:

Research background. Food intolerance mediated by IgG antibodies is an adverse reaction depending on the difficulty to digest or metabolize a food or food component(s) and is manifested by numerous nonspecific symptoms, potentially also promoting systemic inflammation and allergy symptoms. Consequently, the detection of circulating food-specific IgG has a diagnostic value with possible clinical applications.

Experimental approach. We produced microarray chips able to analyse 16 blood samples at the same time. After validation of the characteristics and performance by stringent quality control criteria, we investigate their diagnostic validity for IgG-mediated intolerance on 6,575 subjects of the Italian population to 92 purified food proteins. Moreover, this assay was performed on capillary blood samples collected via fingertip, permitting a minimally invasive and practical collection of blood.

Results and conclusions. 16 antigens showed an IgG response greater than 10 % and 8 aliments of these had a reactivity greater than 15 %. Wheat (20.4 %), cow’s milk (30.8 %), beer's yeast (23.4 %) and mozzarella cheese (22.4 %) produced a very high IgG response greater than 20 % probably due to their large use in the Italian cuisine. Goat’s milk, various milk derivatives (like gorgonzola, Grana Padano and parmesan cheese), durum wheat, kamut, egg and gluten had a reactivity greater than 15 %. 4 food antigens (emmer, pecorino cheese, ricotta and rye) caused a moderate IgG-reactivity ranging between 10 and 15 %. The other food extracts showed a mean low IgG reactivity lower than 10 %. No significant differences were observed between female and male subjects as well as in the various Italian regions analysed. Contrary, the highly reactive food antigens showed a decrease of the IgG response depending on age.

Novelty and scientific contribution. After their validation, our microarray chips were found to be a robust method with good reproducibility of results and low variation. Even if the primary aim of this study is the evaluation of the incidence of IgG-mediated reactivity in the Italian population by using a novel microarray technology and to compare results with a previous study conducted by using ELISA technology, this analytical approach can help reveal what triggers the symptoms of intolerance and help the doctor or nutritionist to choose the best treatment for the patients also with the possible aim to shed a light on the controversy about IgG testing. Finally, our microarray technology enables high processivity (high throughput), ensuring that a large number of samples can be analyzed with significant time, reagent and cost savings and minimally invasive for patients.