Submitted by Dr Tennie Videler on Mon, 29/07/2013 - 09:57
Immune system’s extreme reaction to cat allergen previously poorly understood; study could lead to new treatments for those with cat and dog allergies
Dr Clare Bryant, lead author of the research from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine, said: “How cat dander causes such a severe allergic reaction in some people has long been a mystery. Not only did we find out that LPS exacerbates the immune response’s reaction to cat dander, we identified the part of immune system that recognises it, the receptor TLR4. As drugs have already been developed to inhibit the receptor TLR4, we are hopeful that our research will lead to new and improved treatments for cat and possibly dog allergy sufferers.”
Additional research revealed that the dog allergen Can f 6 (a protein found in dog dander) also enhances LPS-induced activation of TLR4. The researchers believe that dog-allergy sufferers could also benefit from new drugs which inhibit TLR4.
The research was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council (MRC). It was published in the The Journal of Immunology.
