In 2004, public health agencies estimated that over 3 million people worldwide suffer from asthma and rhinitis, and pointed out that most children with allergies are allergic to dust mites. This association is not surprising—dust mites are among the leading triggers asthma and rhinitis, and are the bane of patients with respiratory diseases. Over 2% of children are allergic to them, and if the current rise in allergies holds, estimates place nearly 100 million people being afflicted by 2025.

One of the most common therapies for dust mite allergies is allergen immunotherapy, in which patients receive doses of allergens to reduce symptoms via improved tolerance. However, this kind of therapy can expose participants to a large amount of dust mite allergen impurities if the treatment is not carried out properly, which in turn can lead to additional asthma attacks or other unintended side effects. Given this possibility as well as the growing number of people afflicted with dust mite-related allergies worldwide, identifying and understanding dust mite allergens is increasingly important to improving immunotherapy.

To this end, the Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Kunming Institute of Zoology, led by Ren Lai, used a combination of proteomics and pharmacological research to identify eight new dust mite allergens which are involved in treatment. By examining both previous research and crude dust mite extract they identified a new protein allergen called alpha-actinin. After further studies, the researchers determined that it forms a large percentage of all dust mite allergens. Ren Lai’s findings are therefore important to how researchers and doctors alike think about treating dust mite allergies.

(By Andrew Willden)