Development of Novel Therapies for Canine A topic Dermatitis

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A series of basic and applied studies were carried out to develop novel therapies for canine atopic dermatitis. Intradermal skin test (IDST) and serum allergen-specific IgE test indicated that house dust mite and Japanese cedar pollen were common allergens in atopic dermatitis in dogs. A few cases were shown to be sensitized to food, grass, and fungus allergens. Major allergens of house dust mites in canine atopic dermatitis were found to be Der f1, Der p1, Der f2, and Der p2 in half of the cases. In the cases sensitized to Japanese cedar pollen, Cry jl was a major allergen in most cases and Cry j2 was also a major allergen in one third of them. A test for the allergen-specific T-lymphocyte blastogenesis indicated the presence of peripheral blood T-lymphocytes reactive to allergens which had been identified by IDST and allergen-specific IgE test. Furthermore, T-lymphocyte blastogenesis test using synthetic peptides of Cry j1 and Der f2 revealed several epitopes of these major allergens recognized by T-cells. Based on these basic researches, we carried out a trial to investigate the efficacy of Cry j1 DNA vaccine prepared from a plasmid vector with Cry j1 gene insert. The Cry j1 DNA vaccine did not induce any side effect in dogs. Injection of the Cry j1 DNA vaccine markedly suppressed the symptoms of atopic dermatitis in dogs sensitized to Japanese cedar pollen even in the season of its pollination. The present studies indicate that DNA vaccine of major allergen is a candidate of the novel therapy for canine atopic dermatitis.