Two companion papers published 7 August in the journal Science describe how inflammatory lipids called leukotrienes act as an early trigger of food-induced anaphylaxis in mice. The teams, led by immunologists Stephanie Eisenbarth and Adam Williams at Northwestern University and Nathaniel Bachtel at Yale, showed that leukotrienes released by gut mast cells help shuttle intact food proteins across the intestinal barrier, where they can provoke a life-threatening allergic cascade. In the experiments, allergic mice given a single oral dose of the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor zileuton—an asthma medicine approved since the 1990s—were largely protected from the reaction. One study reported a 95 percent drop in anaphylaxis compared with untreated controls. The findings suggest that blocking leukotriene synthesis could prevent severe food allergies rather than merely treating symptoms after they occur. The researchers are preparing early-phase human trials to test whether zileuton can curb the passage of peanut proteins through the gut in people with food allergies. If successful, the work could repurpose an existing drug to offer a preventive therapy for the estimated millions at risk of rapid-onset, potentially fatal food reactions.