In individuals with a peanut allergy, mild allergic responses are those that involve a single site, typically a skin reaction such as hives. More severe allergic reactions generally involve multiple tissue sites, such as the skin, oral mucosa, airway mucosa and gastrointestinal tract. Given two groups of allergic patients, one with only skin responses, and the other with 3-4 different tissue sites involved, one would expect that:

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Patients with more severe allergic reactions involving multiple tissue sites are likely to have higher concentrations of allergen-specific IgE, since IgE is involved in the activation of mast cells and the release of inflammatory mediators in multiple tissue sites. Answer: B Patients with mild allergic responses may have fewer mast cells in some tissue sites, but this would not necessarily be the case in the majority of their mucosal tissues. Answer: C Patients with severe allergic responses may have allergies to several other substances in addition to peanuts, but this is not necessarily a universal finding among this group. Answer: D There is no clear evidence to suggest that antioxidant enzyme expression plays a significant role in the severity of allergic responses. Answer: E There is no clear evidence to suggest that the number of CD4+ T_reg cells (a type of regulatory T cell) is related to the severity of allergic responses.

In Individuals with a Peanut Allergy, Mild Allergic Responses Are