Munich: Key allergy gene discovered

Research lead

Researchers from the Department of Dermatology and Allergy and the Centre for Allergy and Environment (ZAUM) of the Technische Universität München, working with colleagues at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have identified a gene that plays a central role in triggering allergic responses to pollen, dust mites and animal hair, which will be an important target for drug discovery in the field.

The gene, FCER1A, encodes the alpha chain of high affinity immunoglobulin E (IgE) receptor. The scientists, led by Stephan Weidinger from the Technische Universität München and Thomas Illig from the Helmholtz Zentrum München, found that certain variations of the FCER1A gene influence the production of IgE antibodies, which trigger the immune cascade that leads to symptoms of hayfever such as sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes, and also cause allergic asthma and atopic dermatitis

The scientists discovered the gene through genome-wide association studies of more than 10,000 subjects from across Germany.

The discovery is providing insights on the regulation of IgE production that have the potential to guide the development of new drugs to prevent allergies.