Cat and mouse game holds key to allergy treatments

You would half expect mice to be allergic to cats: after all, most of us would react somewhat negatively if another species took enjoyment in torturing us before inflicting a sadistic and painful death. As it is, however, mice rarely have cat allergies in the natural world, which is why research carried out recently at the University of California, Los Angeles is so remarkable.

Mice were specially bred to be allergic to cats in order to test a novel approach to allergy treatment. The mice were then injected with a combination of a feline protein that causes cat allergies and a human protein that stops immune system cells from releasing histamine, the chemical that sets off allergy symptoms. A single injection "blunted the allergic response before it began," according to one researcher.

The team had already tested the treatment on cultured blood cells from people who were allergic to cats, finding that cells containing the human-feline protein released 90 percent less histamine than those that did not.

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If the therapy works as well in humans as it has in the mice, it may lead to a faster and safer way to treat a variety of allergies than ever before. Current treatments, such as allergy shots, require multiple injections and gradually increasing doses of the allergen, a process that can take up to a year.

This molecule has the potential to prevent allergic reactions long after injections cease.