Abstract
Animals are multiallergenic systems. During the last years considerable information on their allergens has been accumulated. They may be present in epidermal tissues, saliva, urine, serum, milk, and faeces. Several allergenic proteins from horses, cats, dogs, cows, rodents, and mites have been identified, their allergenic activity has been evaluated by immunoelectrophoretic methods, RAST, or histamine release from leukocytes.
Human IgE responses to animal allergens have been demonstrated to be heterogeneous. However, there is a small number of “major allergens” in most species, to which the great majority of an allergic population is sensitive.
Using peptide fragments of allergens some studies have focused on the allergenic structure and the distribution and quality of epitopes binding to human IgE-antibodies. The complete aminoacid sequence of some allergens is known.
Several controlled studies have investigated the clinical efficacy of immunotherapy with biologically standardized allergen extracts from animals (cats, dogs, mites). They suggest, that immunotherapy with partially purified extracts and a defined concentration of major allergens is immunologically effective and reduces the sensitivity of allergic airways. The results may be improved by using extracts containing a more specific spectrum of allergenic proteins for each patient.
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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Wahn, U. (1986). Allergen Extracts from Animals for Diagnosis and Immunotherapy. In: Ring, J., Burg, G. (eds) New Trends in Allergy II. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71316-3_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71316-3_31
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