ABOVE: ISTOCK, MORSA IMAGES
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) has been pinpointed as the likely culprit in hitherto unexplained cases of dangerous immune reactions known as anaphylaxis in response to anesthetic drugs, according to a report in Science Translational Medicine today (July 10). It turns out that in addition to IgE, the classical antibody type that mediates anaphylaxis, IgG can drive such life-threatening conditions.
“It’s an extremely interesting paper,” says University of Toronto clinical immunologist Peter Vadas, who was not involved in the research. “It explains a mechanism of anaphylaxis that we’ve seen demonstrated in animals but never before in humans, but we’ve long-suspected exists.”
“It provides the strongest evidence to date that IgG can be involved in the anaphylactic response in humans,” adds Fred Finkelman, a rheumatologist and immunologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital who also did not participate in the study.
Anaphylaxis is a systemic hypersensitivity response that occurs rapidly upon ...
