Two S. mansoni matingWIKIMEDIA, WAISBERG
The “hygiene hypothesis” proposes that allergic reactions—in which the immune system misfires on innocuous environmental triggers like pollen or peanuts—are driven by a lack of exposure to parasites or other pathogens. In the absence of these true illness-causing agents, the immune system accidentally attacks similar-looking, harmless compounds in the environment with molecules called immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. Data published today (October 29) in PLOS Computational Biology by a team of researchers in the U.K. help to substantiate that hypothesis.
“It will change how we think about allergens,” said Padraic Fallon, an immunologist at Trinity College, Dublin. “It puts the science behind what we thought might be happening. They’ve elegantly dissected this fundamental question: ‘What is an allergen?’”
The team, led by Nicholas Furnham of the ...
