ABSTRACT
Mammalian inhalant allergens are recognized as being associated with severe allergic disorders, including asthma. People come into direct and indirect contact with allergens from cats, dogs, horses, rodents, and other mammals in many ways, in homes, public places, and occupational settings. Almost all important mammalian respiratory allergens belong to the lipocalin family of proteins, but the major allergen of cat, Fel d 1, is a secretoglobin. This chapter reviews the characteristics of the major mammalian allergen families—lipocalins, secretoglobins, and albumins—and discusses the factors associated with the allergenic capacity of proteins in these families. Here, the chapter especially focuses on lipocalin allergens because of their foremost role in respiratory animal allergy; for example, two of the characterized cat allergens are lipocalins with high sensitizing capacity, and sensitization to lipocalin allergens is a characteristic feature in dog allergy. The major part of the chapter consists of detailed, up-to-date review of characterized mammalian allergens acknowledged by the World Health Organization/International Union of Immunological Societies Allergen Nomenclature Sub-Committee. Here, the prevalence of sensitization, physicochemical, immunologic, and other properties of the allergens are discussed. Accumulated data on the IgE cross-reactivity of lipocalin and other mammalian allergens are reported and the significance of the data is discussed.
