A tick bite can leave you allergic to steak
Ticks carry a sugar called alpha-gal in their saliva. Almost every mammal has it in its meat, but humans, great apes and Old World monkeys do not, so a bite can teach the immune system to treat it as foreign. Reactions to beef, lamb, pork or kangaroo usually start 4–6 hours after the meal, which is why the link is easy to miss. Gelatin in some capsules can trigger it too. Australian allergists were the first to describe it.
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ASCIA: Mammalian Meat and Tick Allergy FAQ (2024)Two research paths met at IgE
One team purified the factor that transferred skin sensitivity; another studied an unclassifiable myeloma antibody. When they exchanged reagents in 1967, the two proteins proved to share the same antibody-class markers.
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Platts-Mills TAE et al. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2016;116:179–182A worm protein can resemble dust mite
IgE generated against tropomyosin from the roundworm Ascaris can recognise related proteins in dust mites or cockroaches. Cross-reactivity can connect immune responses to organisms that seem completely unrelated.
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Oettgen HC. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2016;137:1631–1645The experiment that transferred allergy
In 1921, Prausnitz injected serum from fish-allergic Küstner into his own skin and transferred local fish sensitivity. The experiment showed that a blood-borne factor could carry allergic sensitivity decades before IgE was identified.
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Platts-Mills TAE et al. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2016;116:179–182A myeloma protein unlocked allergy tests
An unusual myeloma protein helped researchers characterise IgE. Its abundance supplied enough purified material for structural studies and for developing blood assays that measured IgE and allergen-specific antibodies.
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Platts-Mills TAE et al. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2016;116:179–182IgE nearly wore the wrong name
Early purification experiments suggested that the skin-sensitising allergy factor might be IgA. Further separation and testing disproved that idea: the activity belonged to a different antibody class, later called IgE.
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Platts-Mills TAE et al. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2016;116:179–182Mast cells can fight venom—in mice
Animal experiments suggest a protective side to mast cells: their enzymes can inactivate venom components. Mouse studies support the idea that IgE-related responses can sometimes defend against venom rather than only cause harm.
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Oettgen HC. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2016;137:1631–1645Antibodies can block allergic sensitivity
Before IgE was identified, researchers found that desensitisation increased other serum antibodies that could block transferred skin sensitivity. The idea of protective blocking antibodies predates the discovery of the allergy antibody itself.
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Platts-Mills TAE et al. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2016;116:179–182IgE lasts longer when it finds a seat
Free IgE is short-lived in plasma, but IgE attached to mast-cell receptors can persist in tissues for weeks or months. Its location changes how long the allergic signal can remain.
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Oettgen HC. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2016;137:1631–1645IgE is scarce but powerful
IgE is the least abundant antibody class in plasma. Its very low concentration helped make it difficult to identify, despite its outsized role in immediate allergic reactions.
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Oettgen HC. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2016;137:1631–1645An organ can carry allergic sensitivity
Peanut reactions have occurred in organ recipients because donor IgE remained attached to mast cells within the transplanted organ. Allergic sensitivity can therefore travel with tissue, not just circulating blood.
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Oettgen HC. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2016;137:1631–1645The allergy blood test arrived fast
The first published RAST report appeared in 1967 and tested antibodies against more than twenty allergens. That was before the new antibody class received its official IgE name in 1968.
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Platts-Mills TAE et al. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2016;116:179–182You're all caught up
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