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Due to the functional inactivation of the gene encoding for the enzyme that is involved in the oligosaccharide galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-Gal) synthesis, humans and Old-World primates are able to produce a large amount of antibodies against the glycan epitope. Apart from being involved in the hyperacute organ rejection in humans, anti-α-Gal antibodies have shown a protective effect against some pathogenic agents and an implication in the recently recognized tick-induced mammalian meat allergy. Conversely, non-primate mammals, including dogs, have the ability to synthetize α-Gal and, thus, their immune system is not expected to naturally generate the antibodies toward this self-antigen molecule. However, in the current study, we detected specific IgG, IgM, and IgE antibodies to α-Gal in sera of clinically healthy dogs by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the first time. Furthermore, in a tick infestation experiment, we showed that bites of Ixodes ricinus induce the immune response to α-Gal in dogs and that the resulting antibodies (IgM) might be protective against Anaplasma phagocytophilum. These findings may help lead to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in mammalian meat allergy and tick-host-pathogen interactions, but they also open up the question about the possibility that dogs could develop an allergy to mammalian meat after tick bites, similar to that in humans.
<i>Ixodes ricinus</i>, Tick bite, alpha-Gal;immune response;dog;tick bite;Ixodes ricinus;pathogens, alpha-Gal, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], α-Gal, Ixodes ricinus, R, 610, pathogens, immune response, Article, [SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio], tick bite, dog, Dog, Medicine, Immune response, Pathogens
<i>Ixodes ricinus</i>, Tick bite, alpha-Gal;immune response;dog;tick bite;Ixodes ricinus;pathogens, alpha-Gal, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], α-Gal, Ixodes ricinus, R, 610, pathogens, immune response, Article, [SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio], tick bite, dog, Dog, Medicine, Immune response, Pathogens
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 20 | |
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| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
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