Patients and ethical considerations
Patients (n=289) were recruited between 2017 and 2021 from paediatric or
adult pulmonology and allergology departments in the Toulouse Teaching
Hospital. All patients were attending for a suspicion of allergy to one
or several foods. In all patients, food allergy diagnosis was
established based on open oral food challenge (OFC) and/or anamnesis and
the demonstration of sensitization to culprit foods. Blood samples were
taken as part of routine allergy diagnosis or follow-up, in agreement
with current EAACI and WAO guidelines (18, 19). The present study
concerned only previously generated clinical and laboratory data and
additional experiments with excess serum, and was thus was categorized
as a type 3b non–interventional research, Art. L1121-1 CSP under the
French law. The study was approved by Research Ethics Committee
(Comité de Protection des Personnes ) Sud-Ouest et Outre-Mer II,
for samples collected in Toulouse Teaching Hospital (sample collection
declaration DC20162804). Sera from eight patients exhibiting
MUXF3-positive sIgE without a history of food allergy, distinct from the
289 patients described above, were also selected.