E-Paper
New compound to treat cat allergies
Scientists have developed a new compound that would help relieve millions who suffer from cat allergy and other forms of extreme reactions to certain food types.
US scientists have developed a new compound that would help relieve millions who suffer from cat allergy and other forms of extreme reactions to certain food types, Xinhua reports.
According to scientists at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), the molecule Gamma Feline Domesticus (GFD) - which consists of a loosely linked feline and human protein - has helped block cat allergies in genetically-engineered mice.
However, further research and clinical testing would be required before it could be used in humans, noted head scientist Andrew Saxon.
Over 14 percent children between six years and 19 years suffer from cat allergy.
The injected treatment puts a brake on the release of the key chemical - histamine - responsible for bringing on allergic symptoms such as sneezing, wheezing, itching, watery eyes and sometimes asthma.
The feline end of GFD is the allergy-causing protein Fel d1 found in cat saliva. The other end consists of a human antibody.
While GFD's cat allergen end binds to antibodies on the surface of the cell, the human end links to a different cell surface protein that interrupts the allergic response.
"We measured more than 90 percent less histamine with GFD. The results suggest that GFD successfully prevents immune cells from reacting to cat allergen," Saxon said.
Saxon's team first tested GFD in blood donated by people allergic to cats.
For lab experiments, a set of mice was genetically engineered to become allergic to cats by injecting them with cat protein and an immune system booster. Their reactions would now be comparable to reactions in a cat-allergic person.
When these mice were injected with cat allergen, GFD was seen to block the allergic reaction. The molecule was seen to prevent allergic reactions long after injections cease, scientists said.
