An allergen micro-chip developed at the Medical University
of Vienna, can be used to detect allergic sensitization in horses.
"Our best friends are even more like us than we
thought, and that also applies to the immune system," explains study
leader Erika Jensen-Jarolim, affiliated with the Institute of Pathophysiology
and Allergy Research of the MedUni Vienna and the Messerli Research Institute. The international study also involved researchers from
Germany, Switzerland and Japan.
A custom-designed allergen microarray containing 131
allergens was produced based on existing ImmunoCAP ISAC technology. Using this
technique, only a drop of blood was required, even for horses.
The research team used the allergen micro-chip to test sera
from 51 horses from Europe or Japan for IgE reactivity. IgE is an antibody
primarily involved in repelling parasites. It is also responsible for allergic
reactions and is an important biomarker for the early detection of allergies.
Horses included in the study had a variety of clinical
signs, such as insect bite hypersensitivity, chronic coughing, recurrent airway
obstruction or urticaria. Some horses were clinically normal.
Horses showed individual IgE-binding patterns irrespective
of their health status, indicating sensitization.
The researchers identified a strong IgE immune response,
especially to buckwheat, but also to alder pollen and bermuda grass.
Most prevalent was the buckwheat 2S-albumin Fag e 2
allergen, found in 72.5% of the tested horses. Buckwheat has recently gained popularity
in both human and horse diets.
"Buckwheat is a protein-rich pseudo-cereal very often
in horse-goodies and horse muesli," explains Jensen-Jarolim.
Interestingly, alder and Bermuda grass are not common
allergens in human medicine in Europe and Japan. The researchers suggest that
their frequency in horses is likely due to specific respiratory exposure around
paddocks and near the ground.
The flora on paddocks will now be examined in cooperation
with Uwe Berger and the team of the Pollen alarm service of the MedUni Vienna.
"If, and how strongly, these allergens have something
to do with the allergic reactions common in horses such as cough, colic and
skin symptoms, must first be checked clinically" says Jensen-Jarolim.
“In any case, our results are, much like the IgE test on
human allergy sufferers, a strong indication of which direction to continue to
seek diagnostically."
For example, in affected horses with evidence of a buckwheat
sensitization, they suggest that an allergen avoidance or elimination diet
could be tried, to see if the symptoms improve.
The allergen chip is already successfully used in humans for
allergy diagnosis. Similar tests are also being developed in dogs - these study
results should be available soon.
For more details, see:
Molecular
allergen profiling in horses by microarray reveals Fag e 2 from buckwheat as a
frequent sensitizer.
L. Einhorn,
G. Hofstetter, S. Brandt, E. K. Hainisch, I. Fukuda, K. Kusano, A. Scheynius, I. Mittermann, Y.
Resch-Marat, S. Vrtala, R. Valenta, E. Marti, C. Rhyner, R. Crameri, R. Satoh,
R. Teshima, A. Tanaka, H. Sato, H.
Matsuda, I. Pali-Schöll, E. Jensen-Jarolim.
Allergy,(2018)
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