Microarrayed dog, cat, and horse allergens show weak correlation between allergen-specific IgE and IgG responses

摘要

The beneficial role of pet exposure and the development of allergen-specific IgG antibodies induced by natural exposure is a controversial issue. Increased levels of IgG antibodies to Fel d 1 were found to be associated with decreased sensitization in children,1 and higher levels of IgG/IgG4 to mouse allergens were found to be associated with decreased symptoms in laboratory workers.2 However, another study reported that exposure and high IgG levels to cat were not associated with a lower risk of allergic respiratory symptoms.3 One possibility for this discrepancy may be that allergen-specific IgE and IgG responses are not synchronized and directed to the same allergens/epitopes. To address this question and to define the most frequently recognized animal allergens, we investigated allergen-specific IgE and IgG responses by using microarrayed allergens.