Lymphocyte Blastogenic Responses to Food Antigens in Cats Showing Clinical Symptoms of Food Hypersensitivity

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Three cats were diagnosed as having food hypersensitivity by food elimination and oral food provocation tests. Twelve allergenic food ingredients were identified by oral food provocation test in the 3 cats. Of the 12 food ingredients, 9 offending food antigens were shown to be positive in a lymphocyte stimulation test; however, none of them were positive in antigen-specific IgE testing, and only four food antigens were positive in intradermal testing. The stimulation indices in the lymphocyte stimulation tests for the 9 food ingredients were found to be decreased after the cats were fed elimination diets. The present study demonstrates that the lymphocyte stimulation test reflects an immunologic reaction involved in food hypersensitivity and can help identify allergenic food ingredients in feline food hypersensitivity.

Cutaneous Food Allergy in Cats: A Retrospective Study of 48 Cases (1988^|^ndash;2003)

“…Numerous dietary items have been reported to cause CFA in cats ( Table 1). The most commonly identified items were cow's milk (15 cats) 4,12,17,29,31) , fish (10 cats) 12,17,23,31) , beef (10 cats) 12,17,29) , chicken (4 cats), 17,22,29) , and chicken eggs (3 cats) 12,17) . In our study, a few cats were determined to be sensitive to milk, fish, or beef.…”

“…Wherein single dietary items were sequentially used in provocative exposure trials 20) , most cats were found to be sensitive to only 1 ingredient. Two cats were determined to be sensitive to 5 dietary items each 17) .…”

“…When a foodallergic cat is challenged with its previous diet, clinical signs are typically reproduced within 15 minutes to 7 days, with rare cats not reacting until 14 days of rechallenge 6, 7, 11-13, 15-21, 24, 29) . Although serological testing for food allergen-specific IgE is offered by a number of laboratories, results do not correlate with those of dietary provocation 1,6,13,15,16,17,20) . Such testing cannot be recommended.…”

“…In addition, intradermal testing with food allergens is of no diagnostic benefit 1,6,13,16,20) . In vitro lymphocyte blastogenic assays may be of value 17) , but such tests have not been evaluated in a large number of normal and allergic cats, and are not currently commercially available. When a diagnosis of food allergy is confirmed, longterm maintenance is best accomplished with a carefully chosen commercial limited ingredient diet 6,13,20,21,28) .…”

“…The immunopathogenesis of feline CFA is poorly understood, with clinical and rare immunological studies suggesting that "immediate (minutes to hours following consumption of the offending food)" and "delayed (several days after consumption of the offending food)" reactions occur 2,6,13,16,17,20,21,24,30,35) .…”