A unique type of immune cell in the skin may affect your wellbeing with the development of an allergic skin disease. This is the result of a trans-Tasman collaboration between researchers at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in Wellington and the Centenary Institute in Sydney, whose research, published online in one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, Nature Immunology, forces a revision in wellness experts’ opinion of how allergic diseases arise.
According to Professor Graham Le Gros, Director of the Malaghan Institute and one of the lead investigators of the research, ‘We have used the most cutting-edge cell analysis and transgenic reporter gene technologies currently available to identify these cells in the skin. It is through the expertise of Professor Wolfgang Weninger and colleagues at the Centenary Institute, Australia’s leading dermatology researchers, that we were able to see how these immune cells move through the skin, what they interact with and for how long.
He added, ‘This has been crucial in allowing us to build up a picture of what these cells are actually doing. Critically, we have been able to show that these cells have the potential to cause skin allergy in experimental models. By being able to link this new cell type to skin allergy there is a greater possibility we can now find ways to stop the onset of allergic disease.’
However, it isn’t just skin allergies that Professor Le Gros is talking about. Various research has demonstrated that allergic diseases can progress and take different forms throughout your life. This is known as the “allergic march”, which now affects 15-30% of children in Western countries. Though skin allergies are often the first to arise in children, these often increase your child’s risk of respiratory allergies, such as asthma and hay fever.
Professor Le Gros explained, ‘We believe that prevention of allergic disease early in life is critical, to halt progression along the allergic march. Since allergic disease is immune-mediated, the most obvious target for new therapies is the earliest stages of the allergic immune response. These newly discovered skin immune cells might just be the ‘Holy Grail’ we have been searching for. This has been a huge effort, involving scientists from New Zealand, Australia and the USA. It is really motivating to be involved with something so exciting and potentially important.’