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‘Essential’ allergy protein found in conjunctiva
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A protein found in the eye may play a critical role in how the initial early allergic response develops, researchers at the University College London said.
Prof. Santa Jeremy Ono and colleagues have determined that macrophage inflammatory protein-1a (MIP-1a), found in the conjunctiva, plays a crucial role in first 24 hours of an allergic response, as well as in the later inflammatory phase.
Prof. Ono’s study concluded that MIP-1a is “essential in the initial stages of development of an allergic response” in the conjunctiva, according to a press release from University College.
Medications that block the protein from binding to its receptors might help treat ocular allergy and other allergic diseases, the team suggested in the online edition of Journal of Clinical Investigation.
“Current treatments for severe eye allergy are either ineffective or have associated side effects, such as glaucoma and cataract formation, so our study will be of interest to allergists and ophthalmologists,” Prof. Ono said in the press release.