Quantifying the allergenic potency of mammalian meat sources

Published

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - 9:00 AM

Quantifying the allergenic potency of mammalian meat sources, is an important step in providing a framework for improved management of mammalian meat allergy after tick bite (alpha-gal syndrome/AGS), Professor Sheryl van Nunen, National Allergy Centre of Excellence Insect Allergy Stream Co-chair, wrote for Allergy.

The association of mammalian meat allergy with tick bites has now been reported on all six continents where humans are tick bitten, in over 33 countries, after bites from several tick species.

Intriguingly, this 20th century pandemic of allergy appears to have originated in a pandemic of infectious disease occurring 28 million years or so ago, when our ancestors likely survived because they had inactivated the gene for alpha-galactosyltransferase.

When alpha-gal is injected by the tick into a human host, it bypasses dendritic cell processing, thereby committing our immune system to making antibody responses, including specific IgE.

Read the full article in Allergy. Visit the NACE Publications Directory for the latest drug, food, insect and respiratory allergy papers co-authored by our leaders.