Rare antibodies with potential to combat alpha-gal syndrome identified

Rare antibodies with potential to combat alpha-gal syndrome identified

National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers have discovered rare antibodies that could inform the development of an intervention for alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), an emerging tick bite-associated condition that can lead to allergic reactions to a molecule in red meat and other animal products. In laboratory tests, these antibodies acted as a biological shield, blocking human allergic antibodies from binding to red meat allergens. The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

JCI Human monoclonal antibodies targeting α-Gal restrict IgE engagement of α-Gal syndrome allergens

Allergen-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that block IgE binding to allergens are emerging as new therapeutics for treating allergies to pollen, peanuts, and cats. Alpha-Gal syndrome (AGS) is an allergy to galactose-α-1,3-Galactose (α-Gal), which is present in mammalian meat and tissue-derived products. Initially aiming to identify mAbs targeting α-Gal on malaria parasites, we isolated 42 α-Gal–specific mAbs from B cells of individuals who …