Allergy to pets with fur, especially dogs and cats, is very common and is the major risk factor for developing asthma and rhinitis. To better understand the biological mechanisms behind dog and cat allergies and develop specific treatment strategies, Curin et al. studied the role of Can f1, the major dog allergen associated with respiratory symptoms, in inducing allergic reactions. As immunoglobulin E (IgE) associated allergy affects more than 25% people and Can f1 is recognized by IgE in 49-76% dog allergic patients, researchers were interested in identifying IgE epitopes on the dog allergen Can f1.
By designing and synthesizing an overlapping peptide library spanning Can f1 sequence, direct IgE epitope mapping was performed to analyze the reactivity of peptide epitopes to IgE. Their study identified the major IgE peptide epitope-containing area on Can f1. The authors further tested the ability of anti-epitope antibodies on inhibiting IgE to Can f1 binding and found that these epitope specific antibodies could inhibit allergic reactions in 73% of the dog allergic patients. Importantly, the IgE epitopes identified on Can f1 is similar with that of the cat allergen, Fel d7, thus making these epitope specific antibodies suitable in inhibiting cat allergies as well. In summary, this study provided an new approach for the constriction of an epitope based vaccine against dog and cat allergies.
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