PubMed Abstract PMID: 15585009
Full title: Identification of allergens responsible for canine cutaneous adverse food reactions to lamb, beef and cow's milk
This abstract also posted in the files section of the K9Kitchen discussion group.

Monica's Comments
This study looks for the exact proteins that cause the allergic reaction in lamb, beef and cow's milk. The authors found that bovine IgG is a major allergen in milk and is cross-reactive in lamb and beef because they have extremely similar proteins. They also discovered phosphoglucomustase is an important allergen as well.

Originally published in Veterinary Dermatology, December 2004. The full study is posted at Blackwell-Synergy at no charge.

The Abstract
Lamb, beef and cow's milk are common causes of cutaneous adverse food reactions in dogs. The aim of this study was to identify the proteins responsible for cutaneous adverse reactions to these foods. Ten dogs with allergen-specific serum immunoglobulin (Ig)E to lamb, beef and cow's milk were included in the study. These dogs had been diagnosed with cutaneous adverse food reactions by convincing clinical history and food-elimination diet trials followed by challenge exposure. Sera were analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with bovine proteins and SDS-PAGE immunoblots with lamb, beef and cow's milk extracts. All the dogs had specific IgE against bovine IgG, and it was the only protein in the cow's milk extract that bound IgE from the sera studied. In the lamb and beef extracts, the major allergens recognized by the specific IgE of most sera had molecular masses between 51 and 58 kDa, which were identified as phosphoglucomutase and the IgG heavy chain. Other IgE-binding proteins with molecular masses of 27, 31, 33, 37 and 42 kDa were also detected with some sera. Our results indicate that bovine IgG is a major allergen in cow's milk and hence it appears to be a source of cross-reactivity with beef and probably with lamb because of the high homology with ovine immunoglobulins. These results are similar to those found for meat allergy in humans. However, this is the first time that phosphoglucomutase has been identified as an important allergen involved in allergic reactions to lamb and beef.

Study Authors
Martin A, Sierra MP, Gonzalez JL, Arevalo MA; Departamento de Macromoleculas, Instituto de Neurobiologia Santiago Ramon y Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain

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