Immunology isn't my field of expertise so I'm a little rusty on the jargon, and just want to confirm with someone who knows better than I do.
I have just finished reading an old study that described the antigens in guinea pig epidermis. From what I can gather from definitions, antigens are what trigger your body and get attacked when you have an autoimmune disease.
Are these antigens in guinea pig epidermis therefore the proteins responsible for triggering an allergy to guinea pigs in a human?
So, for example, you might be allergic to Guinea Pig Epidermis Specific Antigen 2, which in turn makes you allergic to guinea pigs?
Yes. You can see similar condition with dog and cat. Most of the protein (often harmless) released in the pet excreta, urine, hair, skin and dead cells can cause immunologic reaction in human (not for all). Theoretically, our immune system see whatever protein (or peptides) enter into our body (via inhalation, food, skin contact etc) as an antigen. Each and every animal or pet possess certain protein in higher concentration than other species. This result in persistent exposure of human to a specific antigen. However, we cannot say that it resulted in allergic reaction in every individuals exposed to certain protein. The possibility of inducing an allergic reaction is multi-factorial. At present, factors like age, gender and genetic factors play a predominant role in induction of an allergic reaction.
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