Málstofa Lífvísindaseturs verður haldin fimmtudaginn 20. mars kl. 12:25-13:10 í stofu 343 í Læknagarði.

Dr. Sigurbjörg Þorsteinsdóttir ónæmisfræðingur á Tilraunastöð Háskóla Íslands í meinafræði að Keldum mun fjalla um Sumarexem smámýsofnæmi í hestum; Ónæmismeðferð - yfirlit

Erindið verður flutt á ensku og er öllum opið

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This week BMC seminar will be given by Dr. Sigurbjörg Þorsteinsdóttir.

Title: Insect bite hypersensitiviy of horses - Immunotherapy an overview

Thursday 20 March at 12:25 in room 343 at Læknagarður

Abstract: Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an IgE-mediated dermatitis of horses initiated by bites of midges of the genus Culicoides, which do not exist in Iceland. The prevalence of IBH is much higher in horses born in Iceland and exported to the continent as compared to Icelandic horses born in a Culicoides rich environment.  Since the year 2000 there has been an ongoing collaborative project on IBH between Keldur and the University of Berne, Switzerland. The allergens that cause the IBH have been expressed and produced. An imbalance between Th1, Th2 and T-regulatory cells seems to be important in the pathogenesis of IBH and therefore it should be possible to develop immunotherapy by induction of Th1 and T-regulatory cells. Development of immunotherapy is in progress using the following three approaches: 1) Intralymphatic administration of purified allergens in an adjuvant. Small amount of purified allergens in an adjuvant inoculated into the submadibular lymph nodes gives a strong specific immune response in horses. Suitable adjuvants are being compared. 2) Gene vaccination with the allergen genes on a viral vector. One type of viral vector with one allergen has been constructed and tested in horses the resulting immune response is being evaluated. 3) Treating horses with barley expressing allergens via the mucosa of the mouth. We have developed a method to treat horses with barley grain expressing an allergen and shown that a specific immune response can be induced.