Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have proposed a novel hypothesis: skin injury can trigger food allergies.
Using a laboratory mouse model, the researchers found that when food proteins were introduced into the gut shortly after a skin injury – such as a cut or ultraviolet light exposure – had been sustained, new food allergies developed. This effect was only observed when the food was unfamiliar and only when introduced within hours of skin damage. Foods introduced the next day did not cause allergies.
Previous studies investigating the links between skin damage and allergy development have proposed that allergens enter the body through broken and inflamed skin, leading to a reaction when food containing those allergens is later eaten.
The findings of this study instead suggest a potential “skin-gut” connection, whereby immune signals from damaged skin may contribute to allergic sensitisation in the digestive tract. Researchers have identified key immune molecules, cytokines, involved in this process and are working to determine which immune cells coordinate these responses.
Further reporting is available on the Yale School of Medicine website.
Reference: Daniel A. Waizman et al. Skin damage signals mediate allergic sensitization to spatially unlinked antigen. Sci. Immunol. Vol 10, Issue 106 (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adn0688
