Editor's Summary

3 May 2007

Chitin allergy

Antigens associated with insects, crustacea, helminths and fungi make up a considerable proportion of the environmental antigens associated with allergies and asthma in humans. Nonetheless, the common elements that link these widely distributed entities remain unknown. A major culprit might be chitin. Chitin is the second most abundant polymer in nature, providing the osmotic stability and tensile strength to countless cell walls and rigid exoskeletons. Reese et al. have now found that mice treated with chitin develop an allergic response, characterized by a build-up of interleukin-4 expressing innate immune cells. Treatment with a chitinase enzyme abolishes the response. Occupations associated with high environmental chitin levels, such as shellfish processors, are prone to high incidences of asthma, suggesting that this pathway may play a role in human allergic disease.

Letter: Chitin induces accumulation in tissue of innate immune cells associated with allergy

Tiffany A. Reese, Hong-Erh Liang, Andrew M. Tager, Andrew D. Luster, Nico Van Rooijen, David Voehringer & Richard M. Locksley

doi:10.1038/nature05746

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (821K) | Supplementary information